This pie crust is so simple to make, it’s almost a shame it took me so long to try it. Almost. As a hesitant baker, I’ve never been too keen on learning how to make pie dough, or any dough, for that matter. Maybe it’s all the hype about how relentlessly exact baking has to be. I’m a cook, first and foremost, so anything that requires too much measuring and coaxing isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t measure when I cook. Like ever. But this pie crust is totally worth the trouble. It’s flaky, buttery, and so versatile, and it comes together with our handy kitchen friend, the food processor! Any time I can bust out my food processor, I’m totally game. We’re BFF’s in the kitchen, that food processor and I. However, if you’re a hands-on kind of baker, feel free to put this dough together by hand, it’ll be just as delish.
2½ cups all purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6-10 tablespoons ice water
Cut the butter into cubes and place the cubes into a bowl. Stick the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes, to allow the butter to firm up.
Measure the flour, sugar and salt, and dump them into the food processor, fitted with the cutting blade. Pulse it a few times to mix the ingredients.
Add the cold cubed butter.
Pulse the mixture 2-3 times to cut up the butter slightly.
Add 6 tablespoons of cold water into the food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Check the consistency of the dough, and if needed, add 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse, just until the dough gets very crumbly. You’ll know it’s ready when you can grab a chunk of the dough and squeeze it together.
Remove the blade from the food processor bowl, and dump the crumbly dough onto a clean surface.
Smush the crumbly dough together to form a ball. Smush is a culinary term, of course.
Cut the dough in half to form 2 pie crusts, and shape them into discs.
Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling it out, or for longer storage, wrap the dough discs in plastic wrap, place into freezer bags and freeze until needed.
To defrost the frozen dough, let it sit in the counter for 30-45 minutes. It should still be cold to the touch when you roll it out.
Perfect Pie Crust
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup cubed unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6-10 tablespoons ice cold water
Directions
1. Cut the butter into cubes and place the cubes into a bowl. Stick the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes, to allow the butter to firm up.
2. Measure the flour, sugar and salt, and dump them into the food processor, fitted with the cutting blade. Pulse it a few times to combine the ingredients.
3. Add the cold cubed butter into the food processor. Pulse the mixture 2-3 times to cut up the butter slightly.
4. Add 6 tablespoons of cold water into the food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Check the consistency of the dough, and if needed, add 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse, just until the dough gets very crumbly. You'll know it's ready when you can grab a chunk of the dough and squeeze it together.
5. Remove the blade from the food processor bowl, and dump the crumbly dough onto a clean surface. Smush the crumbly dough together to form a ball.
6. Cut the dough in half to form 2 pie crusts, and shape them into discs.
7. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before rolling out, or for longer storage, wrap the dough discs in plastic wrap, place into freezer bags and freeze until needed.
8. To defrost the frozen dough, let it sit in the counter for 30-45 minutes. It should still be cold to the touch when you roll it out.
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