By Kelly Bogard

Okay, I will admit it. Last week, the pie crust I made for the Chocolate Pie was the first homemade pie crust I have made by myself. With the convenience of prepackaged crusts, I had convinced myself that it was too hard. What if the butter wasn’t cold enough? What if it was too flaky? What if it was too wet? All of these things made me want to pull out the trusty refrigerator box of dough. With the encouragement of a co-worker, I decided it was time to conquer that fear. I used a variation of his family recipe and ta-da! The perfect pie crust.

Buttery and smooth with just a hint of salty, this pie crust is easily workable and takes mere moments to make. And now that I have worked past my fear of homemade crusts, I thought what better way to get you past yours than to share my version of this classic recipe.

For Pie Crust, you will need…Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salted butter, chilled
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. salt

Now, I followed the recipe Gene Richardson gave me exactly except for one thing–I used butter instead of shortening. I don’t have anything against shortening, butter just happened to be what I had on hand. The key is to make sure the butter stays cold until you get ready to use it.

First things, first. Cut the butter into small cubes and return to the refrigerator. Again, the key is to keep the butter cold.
Pie Crust

Next, measure out the flour and salt. Place them in the bottom of a food processor. Then, add in the butter and cover the food processor with the lid. Pulse the ingredients until they begin to combine. Slowly add the water as everything comes together. As soon as it comes together, stop pulsing.
Pie Crust

Once everything is well combined, remove the dough and round into a ball. Place the dough ball in a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for one hour to chill. The dough will stay good for a while, but the longer it sits, the harder it will become.
Pie Crust

When you are ready to use it, split the dough in half. Place one-half back in the bowl and the other on a floured surface for rolling.
Pie Crust

Roll it out to approximately 1/8 inch thick. This recipe will make two crusts.
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Once the crust is the right thickness and size, roll it into a pie plate and let the excess spill over the sides. You can cut it away once everything is pressed into place. To make the edges look more decorative, you can press the dough to the side in the pie plate with a fork. Bake according to your pie directions. For pies like the one from last week, I like to pre-bake the crust at 350 degrees for 20 minutes using pie weights just to make sure the bottom is cooked through.
Pie Crust

See, that wasn’t so hard. It bakes up perfectly golden and crisp. There are tons of amazing things you can do with a homemade pie crust so be looking for more from me on this. From all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!

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Recipe: Pie Crust

Summary: Buttery and golden, baked to perfection

Ingredients

Pie Crust

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 cup salted butter, chilled
    1/2 cup cold water
    1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

  • Cut the butter into cubes and rechill.
  • Add flour and salt in food processor.
  • Add butter cubes and pulse to combine.
  • While processing, slowly add the water to help combine.
  • Form prepared dough into a ball and chill for at least one hour.
  • Once chilled, split dough in two and roll out one-half on a floured surface to 1/8 inch thick.
  • Roll into a pie plate conforming to bottom and sides.
  • Remove any excess from top and press the top edge with a fork.
  • Prebake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes using pie weights if desired.

Prep time (duration): 0 hour(s), 5 minutes

Chill time (duration): 1 hour(s), 0 minutes

Yield: 2 crusts

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