Pie Crusts from scratch

[MICKIMINI]

Not popular, however if you want it to taste like it did when you were a kid, use lard. A baker who supplied a local New Hampshire country store told me years ago that his donuts were fried in lard. Everyone marveled at the great taste...just sayin'.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I've never been able to make a good pie crust using Crisco ever since they removed the trans fats. Lard is best, butter is my second choice but it tends to brown too much if I'm blind baking the shell.

 

[lilmc]

I stopped using Crisco years ago, just too unhealthy, I used this now https://www.spectrumorganics.com/product/organic-all-vegetable-shortening/

 

[ronandannette]

The section called "Fat and Flour" in the second article I cited goes into that exact issue. It isn't just a matter of the type of fat you use, but also how you mix it with the flour. Here's an excerpt (but the whole section is informative):

It’s not just the chunks of fat that create flakiness. It’s also the uncoated flour that mixes with water and forms gluten that guarantees a flaky crust. This explained the failure of the test in which I combined all the flour with some of the butter, then added grated butter to the dough. You need at least some flour that hasn’t been coated with butter in the dough in order to create the gluten layers that form flakes.

That's probably all true, but my great grandmother, grand mother and mother wouldn't have known any of it. They just followed the simple, time-tested method for making crust, as do I. I highly recommend not over-thinking it and just doing the steps exactly as described in most simple recipes:
Combine flour, salt and sugar (if using). Work cold lard/shortening/butter in until just combined with many small lumps remaining. Add liquid just to moisten to the shaggy-dough stage, without over-mixing. Chill briefly and roll with as little added flour as possible.