Butter Pie Crust

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An easy and flaky all Butter Pie Crust can be made in no time with 5 simple ingredients: flour, salt, butter, egg and water! This crust in a no fail recipe and will turn out perfect every time!

Every home cook or baker needs a good pie crust recipe in their collection. This is the one you've been looking for! I have made many pies and done the work so you don't have to. This crust is an all butter crust, no shortening needed, and turns out flaky and delicious every time. Perfect for dessert pies and savory pies too! I have included all my tips so your crust will turn out perfect every time too!

Ingredients for Flaky Butter Pie Crust

• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 egg
• 6-8 tablespoons of ice cold water

Tools Needed to Make the Perfect Pie Crust

• Food Processor or Pastry Blender and large bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Knife
• Rolling Pin
• Pastry Mat
• Parchment Paper
• Dry Beans or Pie Weights
• 9-9½ inch Pie Plate

I like to use a food processor to make pie crust. It makes it so much easier and quicker. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender.

How to Make the Easy Butter Pie Crust

Step 1: Make the Dough

In the food processor add the flour and salt and pulse it a few times. Next add the butter and pulse just until it looks like very course crumbs. You want the butter to be the size of peas. Next add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the ice cold water and pulse a few times to combine. At this point the dough will be starting to form, but there will still be a lot of dry flour visible. Add another 2 tablespoons of water and pulse a few times until the dough starts to form and clump together. If there is still a lot of visible flour or the dough is not forming, add ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse just a few times after adding. I usually end up using 6-7 tablespoons of water. The dough will be slightly crumbly.

Step 2: Wrap and Chill the Dough

Dump the dough out on a piece of plastic wrap and form it into 2 discs then wrap it individually. Chill the dough for at least an hour, but I have discovered that overnight is best! If you only need to use one crust, add the extra crust to a freezer safe zip top bag and freeze. Don't forget to label! The crust will last 3-4 months in the freezer.

Step 3: Roll and Form Crust

Get out that pastry mat and sprinkle on some flour. If you don't have a pastry mat you can use your counter, flour it well so the dough don't stick. Roll the dough starting from the center and rotating several times, into a 12 inch diameter circle, the crust will be about ⅛ inch thick. Gently place the dough into a pie plate. Roll the dough that is hanging over the edges under and rest it on the edge of the pie place. Now you can crimp using your index finger and thumbs. Or you can simply roll or fold the dough and leave it for a rustic look. Then prick the dough with a fork several times on the bottom and sides of the crust.

Step 4: Make Pie!

Before you can make the pie, the crust needs to be chilled again. You can chill the dough for another 30 minutes if you are planning on blind baking it. If you are adding a filling, leave the crust in the fridge until the filling is ready. Then add pie filling and bake as directed in your recipe.

Blind Baking Pie Crust

To bake the crust for no bake pies, or blind baking as it's called, lay a piece of parchment paper on the pie crust. Add either dry beans or pie weights on top of the paper. I prefer to use dry beans, and I use about 2 cups. Bake the pie in a 400° preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans. If the dough is bubbling or puffing up, prick it a few more times with a fork. Bake the crust for another 10 minutes. Let crust cool before adding no bake fillings.

10 Tips for Making the Best Butter Pie Crust

1. Fluff your flour before measuring. Flour can become packed when just sitting on the shelf. Fluff it a few times with your measuring cup, fill your cup and then level it off with a butter knife. This will prevent adding too much flour and having a tough dough.
2. Use COLD ingredients. The butter should be very cold along with the water. Fill a bowl with ice and add cold water to have very ice cold water. Using cold ingredients will give a more flaky crust rather than a greasy one, and will also help prevent the dough from sticking to your surface when rolling out.
3. Don't over process the dough if using the food processor. Only use the pulse option in quick short pulses, don't turn it on and walk away. There should still be butter pieces visible in the dough.
4. Do not add too much water. You will end up with a sticky dough and a very tough and rubbery dough. The dough should never feel wet or sticky.
5. Chill the dough for at least an hour before rolling. I prefer to chill the dough overnight or even 2-3 days ahead of needing it. From experience, it creates the best results.
6. If chilling the dough overnight, let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes before rolling out. If the disc cracks when trying to roll out, it is still too cold. Let it sit another 5 minutes.
7. Roll your dough from the center of the disk and rotate several times as you go so the dough is even all the way through. Do NOT stretch or pull your dough. It will be uneven and you'll end up with raw or overcooked spots in the crust.
8. Roll the extra overhang of dough under. I don't trim my edges, I roll them under and then crimp. This helps the dough from shrinking too much while baking. It will shrink a bit either way, but this helps keep the sides as high as possible.
9. Prick the dough many times with a fork. You don't want big bubbles or puff spots in the dough.
10. If using dry beans for blind baking, do NOT throw them away. You can re-use them for more pie baking. I use them up to 5-6 time before tossing.

To Freeze the Dough

This pie crust is very freezer friendly. I normally wrap the dough in plastic wrap place it in a labeled freezer safe zip top bag and freeze. Place the crust in the fridge the night before you need it so it can thaw. You can also freeze the formed crust. Roll the dough and form it in your pie plate, wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil and freeze too. To use the formed crust, take it out 15-20 minutes before you are ready to bake it, then prick it and proceed with pie directions.

Looking for more easy dessert recipes? Check out these recipes!

• No Bake Cheesecake Bars
• Old Fashioned Frosted Brownies
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
• Scotch A Roos
• Almond Cake
• No Bake Cookies N Cream Cheesecake Bars
• Fresh Fruit Pizza
• Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Give this easy, buttery and delicious all Butter Pie Crust recipe a try and let me know how you like it in the comments below! Pictures encouraged on Instagram with the hashtag #heathershomemadekitchen You can also follow me on Social Media to see what other crazy things my family and I are doing! If you like what you see, please share with your friends and family!

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