Flaky Homemade Pie Crust from scratch just like grandma used to make it! The store-bought ones don’t stand a chance against this easy 4 ingredient crust.
This easy, flaky, butter pie crust will convert you to the real thing for life! Especially when baking a homemade blueberry pie or American classic apple pie.
Step-by-Step Pie Crust
While this pie crust only calls for five ingredients, you will want to follow these tips for the best outcome! Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be making pies like a pro.
Tips for perfect pie crust
- Make sure the butter is COLD for the flakiest crust.
- Use just enough water to hold together.
- Mix only until the fat pieces are pea sized.
- Handle the dough as little as possible.
- If time allows, chill the dough before rolling.
CUT IN BUTTER: Make sure the butter is cold and cut along with the shortening into small pieces with a knife or a pastry cutter. The bits of fat should be about pea-sized.
ADD COLD WATER: Add ice-cold water, a tablespoon at a time, to one section of the flour mixture (I actually add ice to the water before I add it).
The dough should be barely moistened.
TRANSFER THE DOUGH Using your hands, transfer the dough to a lightly floured flat surface like a cutting board or countertop. Remember: Handle the dough as little as possible once the butter and shortening are added. You really want to keep the fats cold for the flakiest results.
Fold the dough over on itself a few times while gently squeezing so it holds together.
ROLL THE DOUGH If required, knead the dough a couple of times quickly and divide into two equal balls. (At this point, one half can be frozen if you only need a single pie crust).
Roll the dough out and turn by quarters until the diameter is about 12” dusting lightly with flour as needed.
LINE A PIE PLATE Gently roll the dough around a rolling pin to pick it up and unroll it to lay over a pie 9″ pie plate. Leave a ½” overhang to seal the top of the pie.
The crust can now be filling with pie filling or blind baked (which means baked empty to fill with no bake fillings).
To Fill a Pie Crust
Fill the pie crust with a cooled filling (again keeping in mind that you want the fats cold before baking).
After the pie is filled and the second crust can be placed on top, crimp the edges and slightly roll them under. Most fruit pies require slits of some sort to allow the steam to escape while the pie is baking.
Another option is to create a pretty lattice crust; pretty and delicious!
To Pre-Bake Pie
Pre-baking a pie is also called ‘blind baking’ and it’s great for pies that have fillings that don’t need cooking/baking. Learn how to blind bake a pie crust for your favorite fillings.
To Freeze Pie Crust
Once you get the hang of this easy pie crust recipe, you’ll want to spend an afternoon making several pie crusts and freeze them for the upcoming holidays or even an impromptu summer berry pie!
- To Freeze: Portion out the pie crust into balls and freeze in a labeled freezer bag. Or, you can roll them out into a circular shape and place parchment paper between the layers and then slide them into a labeled freezer bag.
- To Thaw: Let them come to room temperature and use a little bit of flour to keep them from sticking to everything.
Whole crusts can be frozen 3 months rolled out into a pan or as dough balls.
Delicious Pie Recipes
- Homemade Blueberry Pie – Summer favorite!
- Apple Pie Recipe – American classic.
- Lemon Meringue Pie – cool, creamy and tangy
- Pumpkin Pie Recipe – easy & festive!
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie – perfect balance of sweet & tart.
- No Bake Strawberry Pie – fresh and delicious
- Dutch Apple Pie – with a crumb topping
Flaky Homemade Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons cold butter cubed
- 7 tablespoons shortening cubed
- ⅔ to 1 cup ice cold water
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles the size of peas.
- Add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time to one area of the dough and mix with a fork. Move to one side of the bowl and continue adding water just until dough is moistened (you don't want it to be sticky).
- Once mixed use your hands to quickly and gently fold over the dough a couple of times. Divide into two balls.
- Roll one of the balls into a 12" circle on a lightly floured surface.
- Gently roll the dough onto a rolling pin and unroll over a 9" pie pan. Cut the edges so you have about ½" overhang.
- Crimp the edges and bake according to recipe directions.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pie
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This was my first time making a pie crust from scratch to use with your Easy Quiche recipe, and both the quiche and crust turned out great! I did have to substitute the shortening your recipe calls for with butter instead, as my household doesn’t normally purchase it. I didn’t make any other changes or substitutions, just the 1:1 substitution of shortening with butter. I did make the mistake of putting the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes instead of the fridge for 20 minutes, which certainly made rolling the dough out a workout, haha. Despite all that, the pie crusts still came out nice and flaky, which was a pleasant surprise!
What shorting did you use that can be cut into cubes?
Thank you
Hi Linda, we use a brick of shortening which can usually be cut into cubes. You can let is chill slightly in the fridge to help with that as well.