I firmly believe everyone should have one really good sweet pie dough recipe in their repertoire. A really good pie dough isn’t just for pies – you can make tarts, galettes, crostattas, pie fries, pot pies and so forth.
This dough will allow you to turn out a fantastic pie crust with just a few basic ingredients.
The biggest things to remember are the following:
- Keep all ingredients ICE COLD until you’re ready to use!
- Leave lumps (pea-sized) of butter in the dough.
- Do not overwork you dough (trying to blend it all in).
- CHILL, CHILL, CHILL the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Most importantly… respect the dough!
Basic Sweet Flaky Pie Dough
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoon flour (cold)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (cold)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (cold)
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and very, very cold
- 2 tablespoon Crisco (cold and not butter flavored)
- 5 tablespoon ice water, or as needed
Instructions
- Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.
- Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Add the butter and shortening.
- Using a pastry blender, cut the ingredients together so it resembles coarse crumbs. You still want to be able to see pieces of butter.
- Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time as you just want the dough comes together. Do not overmix.
- Shape into a smooth ball of dough, flatten into a square or rectangle, and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes as you want it chilled. This will allow the butter to harden. You want to be able to see bits of butter as that’s what will give you flaky dough.
- Follow your recipe’s directions on using a pie crust.
Patty Sylvester says
What Type of flour do you use, Self Rising or all purpose?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Patty!
All purpose for pie crusts.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Sharon Schiefer says
I would like to know if this recipe is for a two-crust pie, or only for one crust. Also, what degrees do I bake this on and for how long? Please advise ASAP!
Sincerely,
Sharon Schiefer
TKWAdmin says
Hi Sharon,
It’s for a single pie crust “Shape into a smooth ball of dough, flatten into a square or rectangle, and wrap in plastic wrap”. I see that it’s not clearly stated though – I’ll fix that.
So the degree you bake it on truly depends on the type of pie you’re making. For a pecan pie that’s baked on the lower third of the oven it’s baked at 350F. For a blind baked crust (coconut cream) I go 400F.
Best Kitchen Wishes!