Simple Pie Crust

Directions

1. 1
   Cream together margarine and sugar.
2. 2
   Add the egg and beat, then the flour and baking powder.
3. 3
   Knead until you get a nice ball of dough. There is no need to add any more liquid; if you don't get the consistency of a dough, you need to just keep kneading (by hand always works best for me) until the margarine gets well incorporated. That usually lends a smoother texture to the dough.
4. 4
   You can freeze the dough raw for later use, or bake it with whatever recipe you're using. My mother sometimes will bake it in a pie dish and freeze it until she makes something like custard pie, or lemon meringue or the like and then she'll have the shell all ready.
5. 5
   Roll out and pat into a 24cm pan. You can either put baking beans on it or simply poke the dough all over with a fork. This prevents air bubbles from forming, and your pie shell will come out all pretty and professional-looking.
6. 6
   Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on 375 degrees.
7. 7
   Note: this recipe can be used as a base for many filled cookies, i.e jam-filled sandwich cookies, which you would roll out, cut out, and sandwich together with jam when baked. Then you can dip in icing sugar for a melt-in-your-mouth treat!