Best Crumble Topping for Fruit Pies

This recipe for crumble topping is the perfect crumble for any pie recipe. You can make it with brown sugar or granulated sugar and it’s even the perfect topping for muffins or fruit crisp.

4 Ingredients Needed

• 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter
• ⅔ cup (133g) Sugar: You can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, or a combination of sugars in this recipe. Just use 2/3 cup of either or the combination.
• 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Grate cold butter into a large bowl. Alternately, you can dice it small.
• Add sugar: use all brown or all white or a combination to make ⅔ cup. Use whatever combination you like (I like using ⅓ cup each brown and white).
• Add flour and then, using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.
• Use crumble as recipe directs, on a fruit pie or on muffins or coffee cake. Bake as directed in recipe.

Recipe Notes

• Store crumble in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before using.
• If using salted butter, omit added salt.

Grating the Butter makes it easier!

There is nothing harder than using a pastry cutter to cut in cubed or diced butter. It takes a lot of time and arm strength, so I created a shortcut: I grate the butter. If you want to make mixing the crumble much easier, grate the butter.

• Freeze the butter for about 30 minutes.
• Grate it using a box grater.
• Use as directed in the recipe.

How to make Crumble

1. Whisk your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Add your butter in small chunks or grated (see below)
3. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
4. The crumble is done when it’s crumbly and pea-sized with no loose dry ingredients.

Expert Tips

• Grating the butter makes it easier to cut into the ingredients, but it’s not required if you don’t want to.
• Crumble topping is delicate and should be crumbly, so you don’t want to use a mixer. You want to make crumble topping by hand, so I like using a pastry cutter.
• If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can use a fork or two knives, but a pastry cutter is easier.
• You can make this up to a day ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 30mg | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Prep Time 10minutes minutes

Total Time1 0minutes minutes

Serving Size 1 serving

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!

Recipe Nutrition

How to make Pie Crust in a food processor

1. Add your all purpose flour and salt to your food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine.
2. 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.
3. Add your ICE water. Not the ice, just the cold water. Start with 1 tablespoon.
4. 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.
5. 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

1. 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).
2. 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.

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).

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A peach pie can be made with a double crust, lattice crust, or even a crumble topping. This peach pie recipe is easy and fast and perfect!

Ingredients Needed

Recipe Notes

A peach pie can be made with a double crust, lattice crust, or even a crumble topping. This peach pie recipe is easy and fast and perfect!

Keep Fruit Pie From Being Runny

Have you ever made a fruit pie and it was too wet? Chances are your binder wasn’t good enough and/or you used too much sugar.

• Sugar makes fruit weep more, drawing out more liquid. Too much sugar in your pie will increase the chances it’s wet.
• Fruit pies need binding. Flour and cornstarch are the two most popular binders. I prefer cornstarch and find it works best when thickening fruit pies.

This pie may look when when it’s done baking but it will firm up as it cools.

Except for apple, you can use this easy recipe for almost any fruit or berry filling.

Avoiding a soggy bottom peach pie

One question I always get asked about baking pies is how to make the pie crust not soggy on the bottom. I don’t like a crunchy bottom crust but I don’t want it soggy. To combat the problem do the following:

1. Bake the pie at 425°F for 10 minutes.
2. Then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until crust is baked through and golden.. Cover the outer edges of the pie crust with a pie crust shield if they start to brown too much before the pie is cooked through.

To brown the edges of your crust (and top if you’re using a lattice or double crust), be sure to brush the pie with a bit of egg wash before baking. I make my egg wash with one egg and a tablespoon of water.

How done your pie crust gets also depends on what recipe you’re using:

If you’re using a refrigerated crust or frozen one from the store, it will cook faster. Homemade pie crust, like my all butter pie crust, will take longer to cook.

If you’re worried about the bottom and you want a very crunchy crust here is what to do:

1. Blind Bake the crust for about 10 minutes.
2. Then fill the pie and bake as directed.

Storage

Store cooled peach pie covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator (same for leftovers). To freeze pie, wrap it well and store in freezer. It’s okay to make the crust and topping ahead of time, but don’t add the sugar to the peaches and the fruit to the crust until just before baking.

Recipe Nutrition

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