Flaky All Butter Pie Crust

5 from 5 votes

This flaky all butter pie crust is the perfect pastry recipe! You'll love how buttery and tender it is, and how it works beautifully in either sweet or savory pies. This is a foolproof, 20-minute recipe that you can make in your food processor or by hand!

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: all butter pie crust, butter pie crust recipe

Servings: servings

Author: Elena Davis

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup cold salted Kerrygold butter cubed and frozen for 15 minutes on a baking sheet
1 large egg cold from the fridge
2 tablespoons ice water
plus more if needed  (you may add more, up to 4-5 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making the Pastry

Place flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some cherry-size clumps. Start with big chunks so that when you add the liquid they chunks get slightly smaller. You don't want to start with too small of clumps before adding the liquid.
Beat together egg, ice water, and vinegar in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture and pulse just until incorporated, about 10 times more. The chucks of butter should end up to pea size after liquid is added. Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together. If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
If making a full pie divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, forming each into 1 disk. (If you're making a galette, only make one large disk with the dough.)
Refrigerate the dough at least 30 minutes, or for up to 2 days.

Blind Baking the Pie Crust (Optional)

While the crust is chilling, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Roll out the dough and place in a pie dish. Line the top of the crust with parchment paper. Crunch up parchment paper first so that you can easily shape it into the crust. Fill with pie weights, or dried beans. Make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish.
Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick holes all around the bottom crust with a fork. Return the pie crust to the oven.
If you’re making a no-bake pie and need a fully baked pie crust, bake until the bottom crust is golden brown, about 15-18 additional minutes. For a partially baked pie crust (if you’re baking the pie crust once it is filled), bake until the bottom crust is just beginning to brown, about 8-11 minutes.

Notes

This recipe makes enough pastry for 1 double-crust pie made in a 9-inch pan. Refrigerate unbaked pastry for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
If you don't have a food processor, you can make this by hand. Simply be sure to work the dough gently using your fingertips.
The size of the butter pieces in the dough will affect the texture. If the fat is left in large pieces, the crust will be flakier. If it’s incorporated into the flour more thoroughly, the crust will be tender and crumbly.
Handling the dough creates gluten, so be careful not to overmix or roughly handle the pastry, or it will be tough.
Be careful when adding the liquid. Add too little liquid, and the dough won’t hold together; add too much, and you’ll end up with a sticky dough that bakes into a rock-hard crust!

Nutrition