This easy Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe will convince you to never buy another store bought pie crust ever again! With just five simple ingredients and a few minutes you'll have the most tender and flaky all butter pie crust of your dreams!
Pies have my heart. Always and forever! I would happily trade cake for pie at any occasion and I happen to love baking them almost as much as I do eating them!
An excellent pie begins and ends with its crust. Literally, ha! So when it comes to pie crust, I want a reliable no fail recipe that I can go back to time and time again. Enter this beauty! I've been using this buttery pie crust recipe for years and it is simply the best.
With some recipes more is more, but I have found that to get the perfect pie crust recipe less is definitely the way to go. The ingredients may be simple and few, but the taste is as flaky and buttery as they come.
Intimidated by homemade pie crust? Don't be! Today I'm going to walk you through everything you need to know for no fail buttery pie crusts!
Tips For No Fail Pie Crust:
- Keep your ingredients cold - Keeping your pie crust as cold as possible is important because it keeps the fat from melting. This ensures a flaky pie crust! If your butter melts inside the dough before baking you will end up with a tough and greasy crust, but when it holds those chunks of butter until baking you will get those gorgeous tasty flakes. I move my butter from the fridge to the freezer for about 10 minutes before I add it to my flour.
- Add the correct amount of water - Too much water leads to a tough crust, too little leads to a crumbly dough. In order to avoid both, I always start with ¼ cup of ice water and then add a tablespoon at a time as needed to avoid using too much. You want to stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps.
- Perfect your pie rolling - When rolling out the pie crust, use gentle force. Always start from the center and work your way outwards, turning the dough with your hands as you roll out each section.
- Roll your dough out further than you think - If you have a 9inch pie dish, roll your dough out in an 11-12 inch circle so you have plenty of dough to go up the sides of the dish and to beautifully crimp the edges.
What You Need For This Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe:
To make this easy pie crust recipe, you will need the following ingredients. See the full recipe card below for detailed amounts and instructions!
- Flour - A good quality all purpose flour is the way we go with this recipe. My favorite is King Arthur Flour.
- Sugar - A little bit of sugar gives the pie crust an added tenderness. My favorite sugar to use in this pie crust recipe is light brown sugar, but granulated works just as well.
- Salt - A bit of iodized salt will help to bring out the buttery flavor of this pie crust even more.
- Butter - We want super cold unsalted butter to get the best flaky pie crust! I even put mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I use it.
- Ice water - Again, super cold!
How to Make This Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe:
To make this homemade pie crust (see photos above), simply:
- Combine the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
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Cut in the butter: Add the cold diced butter to the dry ingredients. Toss it a bit so that the flour coats it. This will keep the butter from totally sticking to your pastry cutter. Use a pastry cutter (or two forks) to cut the cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is evenly dispersed into small pebbled bits. You can also use a food processor or Vitamix by briefly pulsing the butter and dry ingredients together about 6 times and then transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
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Add the ice cold water: Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time to the dough. Using a spatula, quickly mix the water into the dough until it is evenly combined. The dough should begin to form larger moist clumps. Try your best to not over mix the dough.
- Form a dough ball: Transfer dough to a floured surface and using lightly floured hands, quickly fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough can form a ball. Using your hands, quickly pack the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a ¾-inch thick disk. You want to handle the dough as little as you possibly have to.
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Wrap and chill the dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 5 days until you are ready to roll out and use.
NOTES:
To freeze - You can freeze the pie crusts at the dough disc stage for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out.
Pie Recipes That You'll Love!
Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe
This easy Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe will convince you to never buy another store bought pie crust ever again!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar (or granulated)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- ½ cup ice water
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Cut in the butter: Add the cold diced butter to the dry ingredients. Toss it a bit so that the flour coats it. This will keep the butter from totally sticking to your pastry cutter. Use a pastry cutter (or two forks) to cut the cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is evenly dispersed into small pebbled bits. You can also use a food processor or Vitamix by briefly pulsing the butter and dry ingredients together about 6 times and then transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the ice cold water: Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time to the dough. Using a spatula, quickly mix the water into the dough until it is evenly combined. The dough should begin to form larger moist clumps. Try your best to not over mix the dough.
- Form a dough ball: Transfer dough to a floured surface and using lightly floured hands, quickly fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough can form a ball. Using your hands, quickly pack the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a ¾-inch thick disk. You want to handle the dough as little as you possibly have to.
- Wrap and chill the dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 5 days until you are ready to roll out and use.
Notes
- To freeze - You can freeze the pie crusts at the dough disc stage for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out.
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Did you make this recipe?
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this Homemade Buttery Pie Crust Recipe! When you make it, be sure to leave an amazing review in the comments below or tag #goingforgrace on social!
