All Butter Pie Crust – Best Homemade Pie Crust
The BEST Pie Crust Recipe
This All Butter Pie Crust is my absolute favorite pie crust recipe. It works EVERY time and produces flaky, buttery homemade pie crust that will make your pie recipe perfect!
4 Ingredients Needed
A pie crust recipe with butter is such an easy pie crust to make. There are two ways I make this crust: in a food processor or by hand. You can do either one! This really is a no fail pie crust made with butter!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter diced and chilled make sure your unsalted butter is COLD
- 1 ¼ cups (155g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt A little bit of salt helps add flavor to the pie crust.
- 2-4 tablespoons ICE WATER (I always use 2 tablespoons) make sure to use
This crust makes one 9-inch pie crust. If you want to make a double crust pie, just double the recipe.
Pie Crust Secret Tips
- All ingredients MUST be COLD when you make pie crust. Use cold butter (dice it then chill it again) and ice water. I always fill my measuring cup with ice and water to keep it super icy and cold.
- Use a food processor for a no fail pie crust! This comes out perfect EVERY TIME!
- Roll the pie crust BEFORE you chill it – this is a game changer.
Instructions
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Make sure your butter is diced and cold before starting. Make sure you’re using ice water also.
Using a food processor:
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Combine flour and salt in food processor. Pulse once to mix.
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Add butter and process until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon of water and pulse, a few times. I always add a second tablespoon of water and pulse until the dough forms a ball. This takes a few seconds. If you find your mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon of water, one teaspoon at a time.
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Turn the dough out onto a silicone baking mat, if you have one. If you don’t, you’ll need to flour your surface. Press the dough ball into a disk and roll to about 1/4″ thickness. If it sticks to the rolling pin, place a sheet of wax paper on top of the dough so you don’t have to add more flour. Be sure to flip and rotate your dough as you go so it does not stick to your surface. Roll out the dough to a few inches larger than your pie plate (about 12″ for a 9″ pie plate).
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Place in pie plate and press to fit. Tuck under any overhang and crimp or use the tines of a fork to decorate the edges. Chill until ready to fill.
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By Hand:
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Add flour, butter, and salt to a large bowl. Cut your butter in using a pastry cutter. Work in one tablespoon of water at a time. I find I need to use 2-3 tablespoons of water when I’m doing this by hand.
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Turn the dough out onto a silicone baking mat, if you have one. If you don’t, you’ll need to flour your surface. Press the dough ball into a disk and roll to about 1/4″ thickness. If it sticks to the rolling pin, place a sheet of wax paper on top of the dough so you don’t have to add more flour. Be sure to flip and rotate your dough as you go so it does not stick to your surface. Roll out the dough to a few inches larger than your pie plate (about 12″ for a 9″ pie plate).
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Place in pie plate and press to fit. Tuck under any overhang and crimp or use the tines of a fork to decorate the edges. Chill until ready to fill.
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This pie crust is great for filling and the recipe makes 1 crust that fits comfortably in a 9″ pie plate. For a bigger pie plate or for a double crust, double the recipe.
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Make sure to chill the pie crust at least 30 minutes before filling or baking. If you’re blind baking the crust, chill at least 2 hours or freeze 30 minutes.
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The crust can be wrapped well with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 days or frozen for up to one month before baking.
Baking instructions
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For Blind Baking: follow the link in the notes below for detailed instructions. Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork. Layer a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom and up the sides of the crust. Fill the crust with pie weights (or dry beans/rice/etc) and bake at 400°F for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights carefully, then continue baking until cooked through and golden brown.
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For filled pies: bake as directed in the recipe you’re using.
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Recipe Notes
If you are using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
Double the pie crust to make a 2-crust or lattice topped pie: just double all the ingredients but start with 2 tablespoons water and work up from there (it may only need 2-3 tablespoons).
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 16mg | Vitamin A: 285IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.7mg
How to make Pie Crust in a food processor
- Add your all purpose flour and salt to your food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine.
- Add your butter. It’s COLD, straight from the fridge. Don’t touch it too much. Don’t go answer the phone. Cold, straight from the fridge to the food processor! Pulse a couple of times.
- Add your ICE water. Not the ice, just the cold water. Start with 1 tablespoon.
- Pulse a few times, let it run a few seconds. I always add a second tablespoon of water at that point, always. But, depending on altitude and humidity and your kitchen and the star alignment, you might need more.
- Wait to see if it comes together before adding more than 2 tablespoons of water. You do not want a wet dough. It takes a few seconds for it to turn into the ball of all butter pie crust!
How to make pie crust by hand
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand with a pastry cutter. Just whisk the flour and salt first. Then cut in the butter with your pastry cutter until you can’t anymore (this is called a shaggy dough).
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together until it forms a disk. Try not to work it too much – just enough so it comes together.
How to roll out pie crust
I roll out my pie crust before I chill it. This is unconventional but it works and makes your life so much easier! Roll it between two sheets of wax paper so it won’t stick to your surface or rolling pin. By not adding more flour you reduce the toughness of the crust.
- Place the dough between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Roll to 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick.
- I like to pick mine up and flip it over and around every few rolls until it gets too big to do that. This is important because that way you know it’s not sticking to your surface. There is nothing worse than rolling out the perfect dough and have it crack and break when you go to pick it up.
- The easiest way to transfer your all butter pie crust to your pie plate is to roll it up on the rolling pin. If you’ve moved your crust around a bit, it should roll up no problem.
Important Notes
Pie Plate Size: This crust fits best in a 9-inch pie plate (not deep dish). Not all pie plates are the same size. This crust will fit a smaller pie plate but not a larger one.
Use a pie crust shield to keep your edges from burning. If you don’t have a pie crust shield, you can use strips of foil. I add these before baking and remove them about 10-15 minutes before the pie is done baking.
How to crimp the edges
- Use your knuckles to crimp the edges.
- You can also skip the finger step and use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.
- Make it decorative: Another way I like to dress up my pie edge is to make a second all butter pie crust and use small cookie cutters to cut shapes and put them around the edges.
Baking Instructions
I have added baking times to the recipe because of reader comments, but you really have to go by the recipe you’re using. This crust blind bakes in about 20-30 minutes, but if you’re making a filled pie, you’ll need to bake according to the recipe directions.
All butter pie crusts don’t brown like a crisco crust does, so it’ll be lighter in color when it’s done baking. Use egg wash to make it nice and golden brown.
Avoid a soggy bottom pie by baking at a high temperature for 10-15 minutes (about 425°F then lowering your oven temperature to the one in your recipe).
Prep Time 15minutes
Chill Time 30minutes
Total Time 15minutes