Lard revisited

Well, it didn’t take long for our lard to disappear!

Last week the girls made the most crispy, addictive chocolate chip cookies we’ve made in a long time!  They disappeared so quickly that there was no time to take pictures of them!

With the remainder of the lard I finally got to make my pie crust.  I used this recipe.  It seemed a little labor-intensive, but the results were worth it!

After really chilling the lard (in the freezer), you scoop little balls of it with a melon ball scoop and toss them with the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag, then use a rolling pin to roll them out into sheets of flour coated lard.  You then refreeze them in the bags and dump these fat sheets/flour into a very cold bowl.

You then add the ice water and some cider vinegar, toss this around, then back into the bag to mix into a ball.  The balls are then coated with whole wheat flour (helps add crispness) and put in plastic wrap, flattened into discs and then refrigerated until ready to roll out.

The dough was very easy to work with, which is always a big plus!  We stuffed the pies full with macoun, cortland and granny smith apples.  Variety is the spice of life (cinnamon and nutmeg help, too!)

I know when Roy and the boys come up from the barn after building hay feeders for the winter, these beauties won’t last long!