Homemade All Butter Pie Crust (3 ways)

Making Pie Crust from scratch doesn’t have to be intimidating or complicated. Let me show you 3 different ways to make a super easy and delicious all butter pie crust using whatever kitchen appliance you have or even by hand!

Pie crust is super cheap, and you can easily pick one up in the frozen aisle to save time during a busy season. But making pie crust from scratch is truly an easy task with high reward – this buttery, flaky, slightly sweet all butter pie crust will elevate your pie making for all seasons!

First of all, homemade pie crust means you can control what goes into your recipe, like high quality real butter, because that is one of the main ingredients on a list of 5, if you count water as an ingredient.

• Flour – I usually use all purpose flour, but you can also use pastry flour for an even more tender crust.
• Granulated Sugar – if you like your crust more savory, you can use less sugar.
• Salt – always add salt to bump up the flavor of your baked goods.
• Butter – use the highest quality butter you can afford for a special occasion, otherwise any brand of butter will work fine and will yield a delicious crust either way.
• Water – you will need about 2 to 3 tablespoons of very cold water to help the dough bind together. But don’t use too much or you will end up with a sticky dough.

Second, I will show how to make pie crust using a food processor, a stand mixer and even by hand. My favorite method is the food processor, but you don’t need to have any special kitchen appliances to make delicious homemade pie crust.

Method 1 – using a food processor

How to make pie crust in a food processor

• Add flour mixture and cold cubed butter to the bowl of the food processor fitted with the plastic dough blade (Image 1a). Pulse several times until butter is about pea and bean size. Variations in size are okay.
• Turn the food processor to “on” position and drizzle cold water over the dough mixture through the water hole, as soon as the dough starts to pull together, turn the food processor off. (Image 1b)
• Grab a chunk of dough and press it in your hand if it holds, your pie dough is done. (Image 1c)
• Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board lined with a piece of plastic wrap. (Image 1d)
• Shape into a disk and refrigerate for at least an hour. (Image 1e)

Method 2 – using a stand mixer

How to make pie crust in a stand mixer

• Add flour mixture and cold cubed butter to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (Image 2a). Mix on low until the butter is evenly distributed and isn’t in their original cube shape anymore.
• Drizzle cold water over the dough mixture while the mixer keeps going on low speed (Image 2b), as soon as the dough starts to pull together, turn the mixer off.
• Grab a chunk of dough and press it in your hand if it holds, your pie dough is done. (Image 2c)
• Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board lined with a piece of plastic wrap. (Image 2d)
• Shape into a disk and refrigerate for at least an hour. (Image 2e)

Method 3 – making pie dough by hand

How to make pie crust by hand

• Add flour mixture and cold cubed butter to a large mixing bowl. (Image 3a)
• Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture or pinch it together with your fingers until none of the butter pieces are larger than pea or lima bean size. (Image 3b)
• Drizzle cold water over the dough mixture and mix with a spatula. (Image 3c)
• Grab a chunk of dough and press it in your hand, if the dough holds it is done. (Image 3d)
• Gather the dough and form a ball in the bowl. (Image 3e)
• Place the dough ball on a piece of square plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Wrap well and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (Image 3f)

Shaping the pie dough

Once the pie dough has been resting for about an hour, you are ready to roll it out and use it for any recipe that calls for pie dough.

How to roll and shape pie dough to fit a pie dish

4. If you’re baking this in a pie dish, you’ll want to roll it out about 2” larger than your pie dish.
5. To transfer the sheet of pie dough onto the pie dish, you’ll want to roll it up onto your rolling pin. For this step, it is useful to have a longer French style rolling pin.
6. Place the rolled up pie dough over your pie dish and unroll it to cover the dish.
7. Trim some of the excess dough if necessary to create an even edge, leaving just enough to fold under and create a fluted edge. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Par-baking the crust

If you’re using this pie crust for a custard base pie like this Pumpkin Pie or this S’mores Pie, you’ll need to par-bake the crust so it doesn’t get soggy from the filling.

Prepare pie crust for baking

8. To prepare the pie dough for par-baking, use a fork to poke steam vents on the bottom as well as the side.
9. Place a large piece of parchment paper over the pie dough, place pie weights on top or pour dry beans on top to fill the whole pie dish. Make sure the parchment is large enough to cover the edges of the crust entirely. Bake at 425°F with pie weights for 25 minutes and an additional 5 minutes without pie weight and parchment paper.

If you’re using this pie crust for a cream pie like this Peaches and Cream Pie or this Strawberry and Cream Pie, you can take the baking further to completion, another 5 – 10 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Baker’s Tips

• The amount of water you’ll need may vary between 2 – 3 tablespoons depending on the type of flour you use or even the weather.
• You’ll notice when you use too little water. The pie dough will be too dry, and won’t stick together when you test it by pressing a clump in your hand.
• If you use too much water, the pie dough will be too wet and sticky. So make sure to drizzle just enough water to form clumps of dough that stick together.
• When par-baking, make sure the parchment paper is large enough to cover the entire crust including the edges so the edge doesn’t burn.
• Whether you continue to bake this pie after par-baking or baking it straight with a fruit filling, make sure to use a pie shield to cover the pie edge so it doesn’t burn.
• My favorite pie weights are dry beans. I have been using the exact beans you see in these photos for over 5 years, they last forever!
• Another reason I like using beans is because I can fill them to the top and ensure the side of the pie crust doesn’t collapse while par-baking.
• If you’re freezing pie crust in the dish, I highly recommend using a metal pie dish. Glass and ceramic can crack when going from freezer to oven due to the sudden temperature change.

Storage

Unbaked pie crust, in the disk form or shaped in a pie dish, can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to 6 months.

Recipes using this all butter pie crust

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
• Pumpkin Hand Pies
• Pie Crust Cookies
• Guava and Cheese Empanadas
• Cookie Butter Pie Pops
• Mini Plum Tart

Homemade Pie Crust

Making Pie Crust from scratch doesn’t have to be intimidating or complicated. Let me show you 3 different ways to make a super easy and delicious all butter pie crust using whatever kitchen appliance you have or even by hand!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert, Pastries, Pie

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 180kcal

Author: Trang

Equipment

• Food Processor
• Stand Mixer
• Pastry Blender
• 9” Pie Dish

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (200 g)
• ▢ 2 rounded tablespoon granulated sugar (31 g)
• ▢ ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt (2 g)
• ▢ 5 ounce unsalted butter (cold & cubed, 142 g)
• ▢ 2 - 3 tablespoon cold water

Instructions

Make the pie dough

• Add flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Transfer flour mixture to a food processor fitted with the dough blade, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or simply leave it in the bowl if making pie dough by hand.

Using Food Processor

• Add cubed cold butter to the flour mixture. Pulse the food processor several times until butter is about pea and bean size. Variations in size are okay.
• Turn the food processor to “on” position and drizzle cold water over the dough mixture through the water hole, as soon as the dough starts to pull together turn the food processor off. You may need to stop the food processor in between and get a spatula to mix up the flour at the bottom.
• Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board lined with a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a disk. Wrap well and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Using Stand Mixer

• Add cubed cold butter to the flour mixture. Turn the stand mixer on low to beat the butter into the flour. You will see the butter pieces flatten and get smaller. Variations in size are okay.
• Once the butter pieces are no longer in their original cube shape, drizzle cold water over the dough mixture while the mixer keeps going on low speed. Stop the mixer once you see larger clumps of dough start to pull together.
• Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board lined with a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a disk. Wrap well and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

By Hand

• Add cubed cold butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture or pinch it together with your fingers until none of the butter pieces are larger than pea or lima bean size.
• Drizzle cold water over the dough mixture and mix with a spatula. Grab a chunk of dough and press it in your hand, if the dough holds it is done.
• Form a ball in the bowl, place it on a piece of square plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Wrap well and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• At this point, you can use the dough as you please for a single crust pie, hand pies, tart, etc. Continue on with the following steps to prepare and par-bake the pie crust to use in recipes with a custard type filling.

Shaping and par-baking

• Take the disk of pie dough out of the fridge and roll into a circle about 2” larger than your pie dish. Use extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and roller.
• Carefully place the dough over the pie dish, lightly press the dough into the bottom and side of the pie dish, let the excess dough hang over the side.
• Trim some of the excess dough if necessary to create an even edge, leaving just enough to fold under and create a fluted edge.
• Cover the pie dish with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated or freeze for 15 - 30 minutes.
• Once the pie dough has frozen solid, preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Use a fork to poke steam vents on the bottom of the pie dough and on the sides as well.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper over the frozen pie dough, place pie weights on top or pour dry beans on top to fill the whole pie crust. Make sure the parchment is large enough to cover the edges of the crust entirely.
• Bake pie crust for 25 minutes with pie weights or beans, then remove weights and bake another 5 minutes until slightly brown.
• The pie crust can be baked to completion until golden brown, an additional 5 - 10 minutes to be used in pie recipes that don’t require further baking of the filling, such as cream pie.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Notes

• The amount of water you’ll need may vary between 2 - 3 tablespoons depending on the type of flour you use or even the weather. Too little water and the pie dough will be too dry, and won’t stick together. Too much water and the pie dough will be too wet and sticky. Drizzle just enough water to form clumps of dough that stick together.
• When par-baking, make sure the parchment paper is large enough to cover the entire crust including the edges so the edge doesn’t burn.
• If you continue to bake this pie with a custard type filling, make sure to use a pie shield to cover the pie edge so it doesn't burn.

Nutrition

Serving: 39g | Calories: 180kcal

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I love hearing how it went! Leave a comment below and rate it. Mention @WildWildWhisk or tag #WildWildWhisk on Instagram.

This post was originally published on 6/14/2018. The post has been updated and republished on 11/3/2020 with the latest improvements, extra tips, and process photos to help you in the kitchen.