Name: Classic Pie Crust
Prep time: 60 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 Pie Crusts
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for sweet pies only); 12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small pieces; 1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening; 6 to 8 tablespoons (about ½ cup) ice water

Sweets

Classic Pie Crust

Author: Mary DiSomma

If you love baking pies, chances are you’ve tried a lot of different pie crust recipes. I use a few different doughs when I bake, but my favorite pie recipe includes the classic flour, butter, salt, and ice water—I like to add vegetable shortening and a pinch of sugar too. Why? The mild sweetness that the sugar offers, and the combination of vegetable shortening and butter ensures the crust will have some of that rich, buttery flavor—but shortening adds a dimension of flakiness that butter just can’t do alone!

This recipe is versatile. It's perfect for my Star Spangled Blueberry Pie or my Bumbleberry Pie, and savory items like quiches, pot pies (like my holiday Turkey Pot Pies) and hand pies (like my Favorite Argentinian Beef Empanadas) too. Whatever you like to bake, it’s always handy to have an easy and delicious pie crust recipe in your back pocket.

You can put this recipe to good use with my pies-only cookbook, My Life in Pies: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Family and Friends. It’s packed full of sweet and savory recipes that are sure to satisfy everyone you feed!

Classic Pie Crust

Whatever you like to bake, it’s always handy to have an easy and delicious pie crust recipe in your back pocket. This one is easy to make, versatile for sweet and savory dishes, and easy to store.

Yield: 2 Pie Crusts
Prep Time: 1 hour 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hour 1 hr

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for sweet pies only)
12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about ½ cup) ice water

Instructions

Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. If you’re making a sweet pie, add the sugar now. Pulse a few times to combine. With the food processor on, add the butter through the feed tube, a few pieces at a time. Once the butter is incorporated, add the shortening, a little at a time. Pulse 8 to 10 times until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces.
With the food processor running, slowly add ice water through the feed tube, pulsing, until the dough begins to form a ball. Be careful not to get any actual ice into the mixture.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Form two balls, then slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand. This will make rolling out the dough easier once it is chilled. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This dough can be refrigerated overnight. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out as needed for the pie you are preparing.