I’m of the opinion that you can’t really call a pie “homemade” if it doesn’t have a homemade crust. Now, I’m sure some of you might be sitting there saying “Patrick, who made you the final arbiter on what supposedly constitutes a true homemade pie? If I can make the filling from scratch and do the baking, then I’d say I’ve done enough work to call it homemade!”. Well, both are good points (especially the pie arbiter thing, cause I’m not), and I completely understand your frame of mind on the second point. Because I honestly used to think like that too. But once I learned how simple it was to make pie crust there were no longer any excuses.

This recipe truly changed the game, I mean it’s essentially foolproof. So, what makes this pie crust recipe better than the rest? It is the simple fact that it doesn’t rely on either Crisco, or vegetable shortening for its source of fat, but instead uses butter. What makes butter the better option is the fact that it is a more common food item (I mean honestly, how many of you have vegetable shortening lying around), and it gives the pie crust a rich flavor. So if you’re ready to give it a try, then let’s dive in.

Tips, Tricks & Suggestions

If you don’t want to use this pie crust right away you can always place them in your freezer. They should last up to 4 months frozen.
Check out our lesson on how to blind bake pie crust, it is an important part of many recipes.
Looking for some recipes to use this pie crust? Then check out our recipe for either cheesecake fruit tart or quiche lorraine.

Homemade Pie Crust Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: None

Servings: 1 whole pie crust (i.e. top & bottom), or 2 crusts for tarts

Ingredients

2 ½ Cups of all purpose flour

1 Teaspoon of salt

2 Teaspoons of granulated sugar

2 Sticks of unsalted cold butter (cut into ½ inch diced cubes)

3 to 4 Tablespoons of ice water

Instructions

Mix flour, salt & sugar: Add all three ingredients into either a bowl, or a food processor, and make sure that they are thoroughly mixed.

Add and mix in butter: Add the chunks of butter to the flour mixture, and process the butter into it or until it course meal-sized chunks. If you are using a food processor, then ten pulses should work.

Add the water: Just add 3 tablespoons at the beginning, and lightly process these ingredients together until the dough is able to hold together when you squeeze it, but not too sticky. If the mixture isn’t holding together, then add another tablespoon of water, and try again.

Form, split, and refrigerate: Get the dough out onto a surface and form it into a ball or disk. Then use either a sharp knife or a bench scraper to split the dough in half. Then wrap each half in plastic wrap and let it sit in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight before using.

Use: You can use either both halves for the top and bottom crust of a traditional pie or use one of the halves to use as a bottom crust for a tart.

Print Recipe

Homemade Pie Crust Recipe

Total Time10

Servings: 1 Whole pie crust (i.e. top and bottom)

Ingredients

2 ½ Cups of all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon of salt
2 Teaspoons of granulated sugar
2 Sticks of unsalted cold butter cut into ½ inch diced cubes
3 to 4 Tablespoons of ice water

Instructions

Mix flour, salt & sugar: Add all three ingredients into either a bowl, or a food processor, and make sure that they are thoroughly mixed.
Add and mix in butter: Add the chunks of butter to the flour mixture, and process the butter into it or until it course meal sized chunks. If you are using a food processor, then ten pulses should work.
Add the water: Just add 3 tablespoons at the beginning, and lightly process these ingredients together until the dough is able to hold together when you squeeze it, but not too sticky. If the mixture isn’t holding together, then add another tablespoon of water, and try again.
Form, split, and refrigerate: Get the dough out onto a surface and form it into a ball or disk. Split the dough in half with a knife. Then wrap each half in plastic wrap and let it sit in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Use: Use either both halves for the top and bottom crust of a traditional pie, or use one of the halves to use as a bottom crust for a tart. These can be frozen for up to 4 months so that you can use them at a later date.