In the nearly 20 years I've been a pastry chef, I've always used a stand mixer to make pastries. But while developing a batch of pie recipes recently, I tried making the pie pastry in a food processor with a metal blade. I was surprised at the results. The food processor made an excellent pastry, batch after batch.

Here's why: The food processor creates more uniform butter flakes because the motion of the blade cuts through the dough rather than beats it. What's more, the water is absorbed more readily into the dough. And the pastry can be made quickly, with little guesswork, if directions are followed closely.

Therein lies the key to success: following the recipe. Since it has a powerful motor, the food processor can quickly overwork the dough both when cutting in the butter or when mixing in the water. But if the dough is mixed properly, the pastry will be perfect--neither too wet nor too crumbly, easy to roll, and flaky and tender when baked.

Try this technique on these pie recipes:

Caramel-Pear Pie 

Old-Fashioned Honey-Apple Pie 

Pumpkin-Ginger Pie with Ginger Cream