Tender Tart Dough

Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside in the coldest part of the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes while you set up the food processor and gather together the dry ingredients.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter, tossing quickly with your fingers to coat each cube with flour, taking care not to touch the blade. This prevents the butter cubes from adhering together and helps them break apart and combine more evenly with the flour. Pulse 15-20 times, or until the butter particles are the size of small peas.

With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Stop the motor immediately. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, then pulse on and off 3-4 times to distribute the moisture evenly. The dough will still be in particles, not a solid mass. Do not process further or the dough will be tough. It should just hold together when pressed between your thumb and forefinger.

Dump the contents of the bowl onto a large sheet of aluminum foil. With floured hands press the loose particles together forming a solid mass of dough roughly 7-inches in diameter. Cover the dough completely and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.