All Butter Pie Crust
very quick, very easy, always delicious
I think all butter crusts are much easier to make than crusts using a blend of butter and shortening (and taste much better). Every time I’ve made pie crust using butter and shortening it’s ended in disaster. One Thanksgiving I used a particularly disastrous recipe that ruined every pie planned for the day. This resulted in a 2 minute cry session in my room during the Macy’s Day Parade commercial break and a vow to never ever use anything other than my trusty pie crust recipe.
(I ended up using store bought crust and was seething all through dessert because the it wasn’t from scratch).
I’m trauma bonded to this recipe.
I know using anything other than cold butter to make pie crust is typically frowned upon, but I like using soft(ish) butter when making my crusts. It helps me mix all the ingredients together with fantastic cohesiveness. I leave the butter out for about 30 minutes until it’s slightly soft (but still cool) then rub it into the flour. This helps me “get to know the dough” and keeps me from over saturating it with water. I mainly use this method whenever I’m making pies with cut outs or shapes to avoid butter clumps in the designs. Anyway the crust is always well chilled before rolling and baking so, to me, it’s not that big of a deal.
If I use cold butter I always freeze it solid then grate it into the flour to make sure it’s evenly distributed. I’ve also made this recipe using browned butter which is incredibly easy (simply brown and cool your butter and use it in place of the unsalted butter).
All Butter Pie Crust
makes 2 pie crusts
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup unsalted butter cold & grated or cubed & slightly softened
4-6 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
If using cold butter, freeze until sold then grate directly into the flour. If using slightly softened butter, rub into the flour until well combined.
Mix in the cold water 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough is no longer dry and holds together when squeezed.
Divide evenly (I like to use a scale), flatten into disks, lightly flour each side, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Bake according to recipe instructions.
Happy pie baking!
Janaya
Yummy!