on Oct 25, 2024 366 Comments This pie crust works perfectly with savory or sweet pies, is made using butter and shortening for the flakiest crust (with the option of an all-butter pie crust), and is so easy to make! This pie dough rolls out easily and holds up well when baked. Once you try it, you’ll see why this has been a family favorite recipe for generations! I will tell you exactly how to make it, give you tips to make it super simple and fail-proof, and have a video to see exactly how I make it! You’ll be baking pie crusts in no time! I love making my homemade pie crust – I find it relaxing! I use it in my Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, and my Sweet Potato Pie, to name a few! It leads the trio of favorite crust recipes, including my Graham Cracker Crust and Shortbread Crust. Growing up, I watched my mother and grandmother make pie crusts as if they were the easiest thing in the world. They explained it all to me when I was older and ready to bake my own pies – and it was as easy as they made it look! I’m sharing that simple, fail-proof method with you in this recipe. This pie dough recipe makes enough for a single-crust pie. You can double the recipe to make enough for a double-crust pie, lattice-crust pie, or a pie with a crust bottom and a crust top. Here’s how you’ll make it.
Pie Crust Ingredients
Here’s my basic pie crust recipe. I think you’ll love it for all sorts of delicious pies. It is a definite must-make recipe!
All-purpose flour Butter (cold) – cut into cubes Shortening (cold) – cut into cubes Salt – enhances the flavor of the pie dough Ice cold water – helps the ingredients to come together to make the pie dough. I use ice cubes in the water so it’s as cold as possible.
TIP: Make sure the butter and shortening are COLD, and you are using ice-cold water! Cold fats work to make the flakiest pie crust! If the butter or shortening is too warm before the pie dough goes into the hot oven, it can lose its flaky texture and result in a tough, greasy crust instead of a light, tender, and flaky one! Prepare the pie dough. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, coarse crumbs, or has pea-sized pieces of butter and shortening. Add ice water. Gradually add enough ice-cold water (a tablespoon at a time) while mixing with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough is formed. Transfer the dough to the pie plate. Remove the bottom piece of the plastic wrap, fold the dough over and lay it across the pie plate, and remove the top piece of the plastic wrap. Press the pie dough lightly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Crimp the top edges. Chill the pie dough. Cover the pie plate with a piece of plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to overnight to chill. By freezing the fat in the pie dough, the crust will be flakier when baked, even more so than if you chill the pie dough in the refrigerator. Fill and bake. Then, fill your pie dough with your chosen sweet or savory pie filling and bake it according to the pie recipe. Bake and Serve. After baking your chosen pie according to that recipe, cool as instructed, then slice and serve. You’ll love how tender, flaky, and buttery it is! To freeze for a longer term. Prepare the dough as directed and place it into a freezer-safe pie plate. Wrap well with freezer-safe plastic wrap topped with aluminum foil and place into the freezer for up to 6 months. To use, remove from the freezer, add your pie filling, and bake according to the recipe instructions. If blind baking, follow the instructions in the section How to Blind Bake Pie Crust.
Top the pie dough with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and bake for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the pie weights to use again, and discard the foil or parchment paper.
To bake, preheat the oven according to the pie’s recipe directions. Remove the pie plate from the freezer and add the pie filling. Remove the top pie crust from the refrigerator and place on top of the pie filling. Cut slits into the top crust to allow for steam to escape as the pie bakes. Bake according to the recipe instructions. To bake, preheat the oven according to the recipe directions. Remove the pie plate from the freezer and add the pie filling. Remove the pie crust dough strips from the refrigerator and place them on top of the pie filling in a woven pattern to form a lattice topping. Bake according to the recipe instructions.
What to Do When Pie Crust is Tough
Overmixing will cause your crust to be tough. Only mix your butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the fats are about the size of peas at the smallest. Then, when adding the ice-cold water, stir until the flour mixture holds together as described in the notes if your pie dough is dry.
What to Do When Pie Crust is Not Flaky
I specifically call for cold butter, cold shortening, and ice-cold water to help make the crust flaky. Freezing it for 30 minutes before adding the filling for baking also allows for the flakiest crust! In other words, this is the perfect pie crust and the only recipe you’ll ever really need. It is perfect for sweet, custard, fruit, and savory pies. Be sure to watch us make this easy recipe in the video below. Enjoy!Robyn xo Originally published 2012.
