All Butter Pie Crust

This all butter pie crust recipe requires just 5 ingredients and is made in your food processor. It’s so easy to prep and comes together in no time!

All Butter Pie Crust From Scratch

In the past, I have had many failures when attempting to make a perfect pie crust. My homemade pie crust attempts often resulted in a dough that was too sticky, too dry, or full of cracks.

Purchasing frozen pie crusts isn’t really my style and I love to eat pie, so I pressed forward and kept trying.

A few years ago, I finally learned how to make a great — no, perfect — all butter pie crust recipe. Making homemade pie crust with butter is easier than you’d think and you wind up with a wonderfully buttery, flaky pie crust every single time.

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All Butter Pie Crust Ingredients

This pie crust made with butter requires very few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make a flaky pie crust:

• All-purpose flour
• Unsalted butter
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Ice water

How to Make Pie Crust From Scratch

Sift together the dry ingredients, then add to a food processor along with the cold cubed butter.

Pulse the ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand, then slowly add in the ice water and continue pulsing until a crumbly dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and split in two. Wrap each dough ball in plastic wrap, then freeze for 30 minutes.

Once chilled, roll each dough ball out until roughly 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a pie plate, then fill with your desired pie filling and top with the second crust, if desired.

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Can I Prep This Butter Pie Crust in Advance?

If you’re trying to save time during the busy holiday season, you can make this pie crust recipe with butter a day or two ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the pie. Just let it sit out on the counter for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

Can You Freeze Pie Crust?

Yes, this all butter pie crust can be frozen. To freeze, wrap the homemade pie crust in a few layers of plastic wrap, then freeze.

Frozen pie dough will last up to 3 months if frozen properly. When you’re ready to use the frozen pie crust, place in the fridge overnight to thaw and then roll it out as you normally would.

Tips for the Best All Butter Pie Crust

Keep Things Cold

Refrigerate all of the ingredients for your pie crust before beginning your recipe. Pockets of cold butter within the homemade pie crust are what make it so deliciously flaky. Use very cold, even frozen, butter and iced cold water in your pie crust recipes. You can also chill your flour prior to use.

Use a Food Processor

While a food processor isn’t necessary to make a perfectly flaky pie crust, I love my food processor and I’m convinced that it is what lead to my eventual success. It works so beautifully this way because it makes it simple to get little bits of butter evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

However, you can use a set of butter knives or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour if you don’t have a food processor to work with. Just make sure that the bits of butter are small and evenly distributed (the butter bits should be pea sized).

Don’t Overwork

One of the reasons I like to make food processor pie crusts is that the food processor keeps my very warm hands away from the chilled pie crust dough. Heat will warm the ingredients and melt the bits of butter.

Work the dough until just moist and combined and don’t over handle. Over handling will lead to a tough pie crust from scratch.

Recipes That Use Butter Pie Crust:

This Deep Dish Apple Cranberry Pie has an irresistible crumble topping that my family loves.

Want to shake things up a bit this Thanksgiving? Make this Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Tart instead of your usual pumpkin pie. Your family will love you for it!

These Mini Cranberry Walnut Tarts are a great option for holiday parties. They’re so easy to make, and you don’t need any utensils to eat them.

Did you know you can make savory dishes with this all butter pie crust recipe? This Chard, Bacon, and Gouda Quiche is a crowd pleaser every time I make it.

What are your tips for making a perfect pie crust?

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