This all butter pie crust makes it easy to bake perfect pie crusts every time using only flour, salt, butter, and ice water! It is flaky, delicious, and great for any of your favorite dessert recipes! Plus, my foolproof pie crust tips are included for taking all of the worries out of your pie baking!
Best All Butter Pie Crust Recipe
For all of us out there that have ever been intimidated by a homemade pie crust, I can assure you this is truly a simple starting recipe! I've been there, and my pies may not be the prettiest but they certainly taste great!
The butter pie crust is perfect for both sweet and savory fillings, and can be used as the base crust of a tart or quiche as well! It really is incredibly versatile!
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This butter pie crust is perfect for so many different desserts! Check out all of my pie and tart recipes for some fantastic ideas!
🥘 All Butter Pie Crust Ingredients
This easy-to-make all-butter pie crust is as straightforward as they get, with minimal ingredients. The only key to making a great butter pie crust is to work with COLD butter and keep the butter as cold as possible throughout the process.
- Flour - 2½ cups of all-purpose flour, measured using the spoon and level method.
- Salt - ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Butter - 1 cup of cold, cubed, unsalted butter (2 sticks, or 16 tablespoons). You can even briefly pop it into the freezer before using it to ensure it is nice and cold!
- Ice Water - ½ cup of ice water.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🥣 Best Type Of Flour For Making Pie Crusts
A medium protein all-purpose flour works great for pie dough! If you have pastry flour available to you, it will work wonderfully as well. Pastry flour, as the name implies, is absolutely perfect for making pie crusts!
Pastry flour is on the low end of protein content, about 8-10%, but not as low as cake flour. Cake flour does not have enough protein to form a workable dough. Additionally, cake flour has a high starch content and will not absorb enough water to form a good pie crust.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, bread flour has a protein content that is too high. The bread flour will absorb too much water and make a pie crust that is tough and chewy.
🔪 How To Make An All Butter Pie Crust
Don't worry if you've never made a pie crust before- this recipe is completely beginner friendly! Just grab a food processor, a measuring cup, and some plastic wrap to get started.
This recipe makes a double crust that works for 8 or 9-inch pie pans and baking dishes.
- Add ingredients. In a food processor, add 2½ cups of flour and ½ teaspoon of salt then pulse them together. Add 1 cup of cold butter and pulse in short bursts until the butter has broken down into pea-sized crumbles. *Refrigerate your food processor bowl if needed, to keep your butter cold while processing.
- Slowly incorporate water. Add the ½ cup of ice water slowly in small amounts of 1 tablespoon at a time while pulsing the food processor (only add in the water, not the ice). Continue until the mixture comes together as a dough, it should be moist, not soggy.
- Form into balls. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured working surface, divide it into two halves and form each half into a ball.
- Press and chill. Using your hands, flatten the two dough balls into a disc shape and cover them with plastic cling film wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour (and up to 2 days).
This versatile crust can be used in so many ways! Try it out in a turkey pot pie, some blueberry pie bars, or chocolate pumpkin pie! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Before starting, measure out your ½ cup of cold water and add ice cubes. Allow the water to chill in the refrigerator while you gather ingredients and set up your food processor (my recommended method, but this can be done by hand in a large mixing bowl and pastry cutter). Your cubed butter can also be placed in the freezer for about 15 minutes prior to being placed into your food processor.
- Make sure you are adding the water in small, tablespoon-sized increments. It's easy to add more if you need it, but you can't take it out once it's in. You don't want wet or soggy dough!
- Don't skip out on chilling the dough! You'll need to place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour before you start baking!
🥡 Storing
Keep your pie crust tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.
🤔 My Pie Crust Isn't Flaky Or Tender
If your butter pie crust is tough and/or not flaky, either it has been overworked or too much water was used. This is not the end of the world, of course! Slice up your pie and serve it with some ice cream or whipped cream, your next crust will surely be better!
Pie crusts that repeatedly turn out tough may be due to your all-purpose flour. Each all-purpose flour brand has differing levels of protein and starch, which directly affects your pie crust baking.
To work around an all-purpose flour that has a high protein content, use cake flour in equal portions to your all-purpose flour. For example, in this recipe you would be using 2½ cups all-purpose, instead, you would combine 1¼ cups each all-purpose flour and cake flour.
As with all things baking, you do learn what consistency you want in your dough after a try or two. Stick with it and you are sure to master this easy recipe in no time at all!
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❓ Recipe FAQs
The salt content of salted butter varies by brand, so your recipe results are affected by those variances. Unsalted butter allows you to control the salt content better, which is especially important in baking. By default, I always recommend cold, unsalted butter.
There is no need to sift your flour for pie crusts, especially when using a food processor. If you're making your pie crust by hand, whisk your dry ingredients together before adding the flour.
Yes! You want this butter to be completely cold before using it. Using cold butter helps it to remain intact in small solid chunks, thus resulting in a wonderfully flaky crust!
🥧 Best Pie Recipes
- Dutch Apple Pie - Packed with homemade apple pie filling and then topped with a sweet streusel topping- what more could you want?
- Chess Pie - A sweet, creamy, and rich pie that is a staple in the South!
- Apple Cranberry Pie - Combining both apples and cranberries together makes for one delicious and fruity pie!
- Buttermilk Pie - This decadent pie has a sweet custard filling that is hard to resist!
- Pecan Pie - Perfect for the holidays, pecan pie is a classic!
- Sweet Potato Pie - The creamy and decadent sweet potato filling makes this pie a perfect fall-time dessert!
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📖 Recipe Card
Butter Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons - cold, cubed - can be frozen briefly before using)
- ½ cup ice water
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the flour and salt then pulse them together. Add butter and pulse in short bursts until the butter has broken down into pea-sized crumbles. *Refrigerate your food processor bowl if needed, to keep your butter cold while processing.
- Add the ice water slowly in small amounts of 1 tablespoon at a time while pulsing the food processor. Continue until the mixture comes together as dough, it should be moist not soggy.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured working surface, divide it into two halves and form each half into a ball.
- Using your hands, flatten the two dough balls into a disc shape and cover with plastic cling film wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour (and up to 2 days).
Anonymous says
Would like to try but you provide no directions on baking.
Angela Latimer says
It will depend on your recipe. Some may have you par-bake and others may not.
Anonymous says
Hey, I think you forgot to tell us how to bake the crust lol
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That will depend on your recipe instructions. Some will have you par-bake the crust, others you'll add the filling and bake from there.
nelly coronado says
se puede sustituir por masa de hojaldre ya lista para usar para la corteza?
English: Can it be substituted for ready-to-use puff pastry for the crust?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Esta no es una masa de hojaldre, pero dependiendo de su receta, puede funcionar. Es una excelente corteza casera rápida y fácil que se puede usar con prácticamente cualquier cosa.
English: This is not a puff pastry crust, but depending on your recipe it may work. It's a great quick and easy homemade crust that can be used with practically anything.