Holly Hornblower's Never Fail Pie Crust

This crust makes 2 9-inch crusts or 16 muffin tins.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup lard
• ⅓ cup cold water
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sweet pies only, leave out for savory pies)
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a separate bowl, whisk together water, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Stir into flour mixture and knead dough briefly, just until smooth. Allow to rest 15 minutes before rolling out. Pastry is easier to work with when chilled. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

• Place pastry dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half  and roll out dough to a round disk about 1/8-inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to prepared pie tin(s). 

•  IF you are making muffin tin sized: Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough out into an even rectangle, that’s at least 9- by 13-inches. Use the lid of a takeout container and a pizza slicer (or just use a very large biscuit cutter) to cut 4-inch circles from the sheet of dough. 

• The key to pie crusts and other pastries: keep them cold - starts getting warm - put in fridge a bit - then continue until getting warm again - then chill again. The reason for this, it makes the crust/pastry easier to work with. 

1.  Brush outside 2 inches around the edges of circle lightly with water. Tightly curl up a bit of the edge of the dough to give it a rounder shape with a slightly thickened edge. If some edges are thicker than others, pinch off excess and add to thinner edges forming a circle with even edges. Roll each edge again just once to make the edges thick enough to crimp. Crimp crust with your floured fingers.
2. Use a fork to "dock" the bottom surface, covering it with tiny holes to prevent the dough from bubbling up as it bakes. 
3. At this point you can freeze them in pans, use it in a recipe that calls for an unbaked crust or proceed with cooking them - follow the next step.  
4. Skip this step if your pie calls for an unbaked crust and go to step 5 (bake as your recipe indicates) - otherwise proceed: Place your pie pans or muffin tins on the baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in preheated (375 F) oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. 
5. They are ready to fill. 

   Source: All Recipes