- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cake flour
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- Put the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a large stand-up mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment. Blend for 30 to 45 seconds on medium-low speed.
- Sift the flours and confectioners; sugar into a medium-size mixing bowl. With the mixer on low, add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture about 1/3 cup at a time, blending reasonably well after, each addition. You don’t have to wait until the previous addition has been entirely incorporated before adding the next, but do give it some time.
- When all of the dry ingredients have been added and the dough starts to ball up around the beater, stop the machine. Remove the bowl and scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough gently 3 or 4 times, then shape it into a ball. Place the ball on a lightly floured sheet of plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk about ¾ inch thick (unless the recipe instructs you to shape the dough into 2 balls for a double-crust pie). Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1½ hours, until firm enough to roll.
- To mix by hand: Using a wooden spoon, cream the butter and cream cheese together in a medium-size mixing bowl. Sift the dry ingredients together, as instructed above, then add them to the creamed mixture about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough coheres, proceed as directed above.