That grandmother in Des Moines who taught me the fork trick for pie crust

I was at a church bake sale last spring and this older lady noticed me staring at her pies, perfect lattice tops on every one. I asked her how she got the crust so flaky without it crumbling. She told me to use two forks instead of a pastry cutter, and to stop overworking the dough like I was kneading bread. She said you only mix until the fat looks like peas and the dough just comes together. I tried her method that weekend on a cherry pie and it came out better than anything I had done in 10 years of baking. The texture was light, held its shape, and no shrinkage. Has anyone else gone back to the old school tools for something simple and seen a big jump in results?

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