All Butter Pie Crust

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and I want to help you be prepared and make your holidays even brighter! One way you can transform a good pie into a great one is to make your own homemade pie crust. If you have never done it before, don’t fret. It really isn’t that hard! And remember – a bad homemade pie crust is still better than store bought!

I decided a couple of years ago that I wouldn’t use vegetable shortening anymore and have been working on transitioning to all butter. That goes for my cookies, biscuits, pie doughs, etc and honestly it all tastes SO much better!

This recipe makes 2 pie shells:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2/3 cups of butter ***THIS IS KEY —-> it needs to be room temperature! Not super cold like most people say – I have found that if you take your butter out 30 mins prior to mixing it up then it makes a flaky pie crust! It should be slightly soft but not so much that it molds to your finger when you push on it.
• 6-8 tablespoons of ice cold water, as needed

Mix the flour and salt together and then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until mixed in fairly well, smaller than the size of peas.

If you don’t have a pastry cutter you can use your fingers but wash your hands in cold water first so you don’t melt the butter.

Add the water slowly, mixing it with a fork, until the dough holds together. You might not use all of the water or you might need a touch more. This is the part that takes practice but even if you add too much, it will really be fine 🙂 So once it can be formed into a ball you’ll make 2 evenly portioned balls and press it tightly together. Then press the ball of dough down into a disk shape.

IF YOU WANT AN EXTRA STEP you can wrap each disk in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 mins before moving on OTHERWISE on a lightly floured surface roll the pie dough disk out to about 1/4 in thick. You will need to lightly flour the top of the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin. Also, after every few rolls you should turn your pie dough 45 degrees to ensure that it isn’t sticking to the counter and to ensure even thickness.

Place the dough into the pie dish and press it around the edges. Then with a fork poke holes all over the pie crust.

If you need a baked pie shell for fresh pies then bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 mins until lightly browned. Otherwise use the pie dough as directed by your recipe.

TIP: if you have any extra pie dough that you had to cut off when fitting in the pie pan you can lay it on a baking sheet and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on it and cook it at 425 degrees for a few minutes until its lightly browned and puffed.

Enjoy – Jenny