There are hundreds of recipes for pie crust. Make by hand or in the processor? Use butter, lard, Crisco, or a combination of all three? How much water to add?

Our GardenWeb members have lots of great recipes for crust, but there's one ingredient in a couple of them that seems a little -- unusual. It's vodka.

That's right, vodka, the stuff you usually find in your martini or your gimlet. It may sound odd, but adding a bit of vodka to the dough keeps it flaky and delicious (and the alcohol evaporates when you cook it, so you won't taste it or get drunk). This innovative recipe originated from Cook's Illustrated a couple years ago -- it's called Foolproof Pie Dough and calls for 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup vodka.

Member lindac says, "The vodka vaporizes in the oven and leaves a really flakey crust...not at all 'cakey,'" while member mustangs calls it "outstanding."

iVillage community moderator Tamara Amey says, "When something contains 80-proof vodka, it can't be all bad, right? It worked its magic into a combination of crispy, crumbly and flakey all rolled into one perfect pie crust and will now be my go-to recipe."

If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is. And anything that claims to be "foolproof" is right up my alley. What do you think -- will you try making vodka pie crust?

--Maggie

photo: j. hall/getty images