I've have been praised in my family for my pies for years but to me they are rarely that impressive. I almost always make an all butter crust, 2 1/2 cups AP flour, 2 sticks butter, and a varying bit of salt and sugar depending on what butter I used and what the filling might be. I have not had much experience or success when using shortening, and never tried lard as my wife is a vegetarian.
I always form dough into disks and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I can roll a nice disk, fill whatever pan (metal, glass or ceramic) and finish with a pretty nice fluted edge which then melts and settles and leaves no decorative pattern at all. Any suggestions to help the fluted edge stay fluted would be such a help! Thank you, and happy holidays!

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