Homemade Pie Crust

Easy, flakey, and buttery homemade pie crust for all your pie making needs. Sweet or savory, this recipe is a must!

I've always said there is not a pie I don’t like! I may have my favorites, but really I love pie. In my opinion, the crust is what makes or breaks a great pie. I want the crust to be flaky, crispy, and flavorful. This recipe is my everyday crust that I keep on hand if the mood strikes to whip up a pie. I can make it in batches and freeze for when I need it. Once you try making your own, you won't want to buy it anymore.  

‍

‍

What ingredients do you need for homemade pie crust?

• AP Flour
• Unsalted Butter
• Crisco
• Sugar
• Salt
• Ice Water
• Cinnamon (optional)

‍

The Recipe...

In a large bowl mix flour, salt, and sugar (optional cinnamon). Cut the butter into small pieces and spread out on top of flour. Add crisco in dollops on top as well.

‍

With a pastry cutter, start cutting butter into flour. You want to incorporate the butter so that it becomes a crumbly texture. Drizzle ice water on top and start to cut the liquid into crumbles.

‍

When it starts to come together, dump onto a clean table and gently bring it together into a dough. Try not to over handle. It is important that you have little bits of butter that are not incorporated. These bits of butter will melt in the oven making your pastry flakey with layers. If you handle too much the heat from your hands can melt the butter, so use the pastry cutter as long as you can.

‍

Cut the dough in half and then form into 2 disk shapes and wrap in plastic wrap. Place dough in the refrigerator overnight. You want your dough chilled all the way through. A couple of hours is not long enough. If the center is not chilled, the outer edges will crack, making it hard to roll out.

‍

‍

Recipe Tips:

Tip #1

• Homemade pie crust is definitely worth trying to make — it tastes much better. And you can make it in advance.

Tip #2

• The biggest tip when making homemade pie crust, is to either roll out the dough right away (while still warm) or chill in plastic wrap in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours. This is really important to chill completely, so it does not crack around the edges when rolling out.

Tip #3

• I like to make several batches of this dough at a time and then keep some in my freezer all the time. I will measure out into 3-4 bowls the dry ingredients and then kind of have an assembly line.
• Unfortunately I find that doubling or tripling the recipe does not work well so lining up multiple bowls and measuring everything out at once helps to speed up the process.

‍

‍

Make Ahead:

• You can make the pie crust in advance, store in your freezer for up to 3 months wrapped tightly. I like to double wrap in plastic and then place in a zip lock bag to prevent moisture from seeping in.
• The best way to thaw is to move your dough to your refrigerator the day before you need it, so that it can thaw slowly overnight.

Storing tips:

• Store dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
• I like to double wrap in plastic and then place in a zip lock bag to prevent moisture from seeping in.

‍

‍