Flaky, buttery, golden and delicious! The best pie crust ever! And it's so easy to make! This makes 2 pie crust with extra dough left over. If you only need one pie crust you can half this recipe.
Course Dessert, Main Course
Cuisine American, southern
Keyword pie crust
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Chill 30 minutesminutes
Servings 2crusts
Calories
Ingredients
3¾cupsall-purpose flour(spoon into measuring cup and level off)
3tablespoonsgranulated sugar
1½teaspoonsalt
¾cupunsalted butter, frozen
¾cupbutter-flavored shortening, frozen
¾cupice water
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk until combined.
Grate the frozen butter and shortening into the flour mixture (toss with a fork several times while grating so that it doesn't all clump together)
¾ cup unsalted butter, frozen, ¾ cup butter-flavored shortening, frozen
Cut in the butter and shortening using a pastry cutter until the mixtures resembles small crumbs.
Stir in cold water just until combined and a dough begins to form.
¾ cup ice water
Place dough on a floured surface (it will be crumbly) and gently knead just enough until all the flour is incorporated and you have soft, uniform dough.
Divide the dough into two equal halves.
Gently shape the dough into flattened disks.
Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to use, roll one of the halves out evenly onto a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll it large enough to fit a 9-inch pie pan. (about 12 inches in diameter)
Place into a pie plate and trim off any excess dough if needed.
Chill in the refrigerator until it's ready for filling.
If storing long term, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.
Video
Notes
Use super cold ingredients- Yep, throw all of the ingredients into the fridge to get them cold before starting. This will ensure that your pie crust is perfectly flaky.
Chill the dough- Letting the dough rest and chill before rolling out and before baking will prevent a tough crust.
Use a light touch- When kneading the dough, only do so long enough to combine the ingredients. Overworking the pie dough will over-activate the gluten, which could lead to a gummy, heavy crust (been there, done that!)
How to Blind-Bake (Full & Partial)
Prep Your Crust: First, place your rolled-out crust into your pie dish and shape it according to your recipe or preference. Make sure it’s nice and snug without any air pockets.
Chill It: Place your crust in the fridge for a bit just to get it super cold. This ensures the pie crust will bake up flaky.
Line It: Line the bottom of the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. (Crumbling that parchment paper up first will make it easier to line the crust.
Weigh It Down: Fill the lined crust with pie weights, beans, or sugar to prevent it from puffing up and shrinking. Be sure to cover the bottom with pie weights completely. (If using sugar, the sugar will still be some good after baking, so don’t discard it)
Bake It: Place your weighted pie shell into a preheated 375°F oven. Bake until the edges are very lightly golden and appear set for about 15 minutes (may need longer).
Full or Partial Bake: Remove the pie from the oven and lift off the parchment paper. For a partially baked crust, return to the oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes or until golden. For a fully baked crust, bake for about 15 minutes. (Timing may vary, so keep an eye on it.) You can also prick the crust before placing it back into the oven, but I usually skip this step.
Cool: Let crust cool before adding filling. Proceed with the desired pie recipe.