My go-to recipe for an all-butter pie crust! Easy and flaky, this recipe works well for both sweet and savory pies!
PIE. Only the best part of any holiday dinner. Or Friday night. Or Saturday morning. No judgment here.
This Thanksgiving, we did it right. My family likes variety and despite the fact that there was only a small gathering at our house this Thanksgiving, we had two kinds of pie. Already amazing and incredible. But it got even better from there. Our best friends stopped by on their way home from a family Thanksgiving… with their own leftover pie!
We sat/stood gathered around the massive kitchen island, taking a slice here and a slice there of triple berry pie, chocolate silk pie, pumpkin pie . . . there was even cheesecake. <3 Best. Thanksgiving. Ever.
How to Make An All-Butter Pie Crust
- Measure out the flour and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour.
- Sprinkle the flour/butter mixture with ice water.
- Gather the mixture into a dough ball and chill.
- Roll the dough out and transfer to a pie dish.
- Pre-bake or use according to your favorite recipe!
All-Butter Pie Crust FAQ
Every baker will have his or her own opinion. But generally, shortening is easier to work with, but butter has superior flavor. Shortening is very stable at room temperature and doesn’t melt, whereas butter will get softer much more quickly. So keeping the dough at an optimally cold temperature, such that the butter does not get too soft is a little tricky. But by using cold butter, ice water, and chilling the dough, I promise an all-butter pie crust is worth it!
Cinnamon sugar poofs! You can use the scraps as they are or roll out the scraps and use a cookie cutter or knife to cut consistent shapes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir 1/4 cup white granulated sugar and 4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon together in a small bowl. Brush the pie crust scraps lightly with melted better and toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Lay out on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp. Enjoy!
It’s normal to see small cracks around the edges of the dough as you roll it out. Be careful to evenly roll out the dough in different directions so that one side doesn’t become more thin/delicate than another side and rip. If your dough is tearing or ripping across the center, try adding more ice water next time. But you can do a quick fix by transferring the dough to the pie dish and using a wet finger to push the edges of the dough together and “seal” it.
Two possibilities: the butter wasn’t kept cold or the dough was overworked. Cold butter does not fully incorporate into the dough, which means there are small pockets of cold butter throughout your pie crust. When the crust goes into the oven, the water within the butter evaporates, leaving a small air pocket, which results in a flaky crust. But if the butter is warm or the dough is overworked, the butter–in effect–gets “smeared” into the dough and you lose those small pockets of butter necessary for a flaky crust.
Several possibilities. First, if the pie crust was rolled too thick, then the pie crust doesn’t have time to cook all the way through. Similarly, if the crust isn’t cooked long enough, then there isn’t enough time for the water content in the pie crust to fully evaporate and the pastry will be soft instead of flaky.
Another possibility is that your pie filling is too watery. Pie crust can hold up to a lot, but if your filling is too watery, then the water won’t all be able to evaporate in the oven and some will be left sitting in the bottom of your pie, to then be absorbed by your crust.
Show me your pies! Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating if you try out this recipe! I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! I love looking through the photos of recipes you all have made!
mikaela | wyldflour
1 9" Pie Crust
Serves 8
A go-to recipe for a flaky, all-butter pie crust
15 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 3-4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) ice cold water
- extra flour for rolling out the dough
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a glass with ice and water and set aside.
- Stir the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Remove the butter from the refrigerator, slice into Tablespoon-sized chunks, and toss the butter with the flour. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, occasionally using a knife to scrape the pastry blender clean and continue. Continue cutting the butter into the flour until the butter/flour mixture "sheets" through the pastry blender in layers that start to hold their shape and then crumble away. (About 3-4 minutes.)
- Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice cold water over the flour/butter mixture, using a fork to toss the mixture a little bit in between each tablespoon. Test the dough by taking a small handful of mixture and squeezing gently in your hand. If it holds together, it's ready to be gathered together. If it just crumbles in your hand, sprinkle the dough with another tablespoon of ice water.
- Use your hands to gather the mixture into a dough ball by pressing and kneading the mixture together. It will be quite dry but should hold together. Flatten the ball into a thick disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle a clean surface with a few tablespoons of flour and dust a rolling pin with flour. Unwrap the disk and sprinkle both sides of it generously with flour. Roll the disk out to about 1/8" thick and wide enough to have at least 1 1/2" extra width surrounding the edges of the pie dish. Use your arm or your rolling pin to support the crust as you transfer it to a 9" pie dish. (If it sticks to your surface, use a thin metal spatula to slide underneath and around the edges of the pie crust.) Press the crust into the pie dish, sealing any cracks or holes. Use scissors or a sharp knife to trim any overhang.
- For Prebaking: If your pie recipe requires a cooked pie crust, prick the pie crust all over with a fork and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, before using for your pie recipe.
- For Baking With Filling: Place the prepared pie crust in the freezer for 10 minutes or until your filling is ready. Prepare your filling according to your recipe. Remove the pie crust from the freezer and fill the pie crust with your filling. Bake according to the recipe's directions.
Notes
This recipe makes enough dough to fill the bottom of a 9" pie plate. If you want extra dough for a top crust or lattice crust, double the recipe.
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