I was always told that there are cooks, and there are bakers. My mom can't cook. PERIOD. When I was growing up (back in the '60s/early '70s), if it didn't come in a box (aka: Hamburger Helper), we didn't eat it. My mom's mom didn't cook much either, as she was a "Rosie the Riveter". My Granny made the best cloverleaf rolls you ever put in your mouth. She made some kind of bread, every day, for my Grand-dad. She never told me her baking secrets. I always assumed my mom learned from her. Hands down, mom my makes the most consistently awsome piecrust ever. I know it sounds either biased, crazy, or both, but there's a lesson here. Someone who can't cook wants things to be easy. She uses only Crisco, and she makes no fuss over the dough. No ice water, no specific flour. Her mood never mattered. The weather never mattered. And she was ALWAYS CONFIDENT her pie crust would be great. I'm convinced that great pie crust is simply Criso + mind over matter!

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