Homemade Pie Crust

5 from 1 vote

Nothing beats a homemade pie crust, flaky, buttery, and golden. This butter-and-Crisco crust combines rich flavor with tender flakiness, perfect for sweet or savory fillings.

Prep Time15

Chill Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: crusts

Calories: 1452kcal

Author: Nicole Durham

Cost: Recipe $2.54 / Crust $1.27

Equipment

Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour ($1.03)
1 teaspoon salt ($0.01)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, optional ($0.02)
½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed ($0.99)
½ cup vegetable shortening, cold, cubed or spooned ($0.49)
½ cup ice water, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons more if needed ($0.00)

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and granulated sugar, if using.
Cut in fats. Add the cold cubed butter and shortening. Cut in using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining.
Add water. Gradually add the ice water, mixing just until the dough begins to hold together. Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
Chill dough. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate before rolling.
Roll and shape. Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a pie plate and trim the edges.
Fill and bake. Fill with your desired pie filling and bake according to the filling recipe until the crust is golden.

Notes

Keep everything cold: Chill butter, shortening, and water to ensure flakiness.
Handle gently: Avoid overmixing or over-kneading; too much gluten makes the crust tough.
Flakiness tip: Larger butter chunks in the dough create extra flaky layers.
Rolling: Roll out to ~12" for a 9" pie plate.
Blind baking: Line with parchment and pie weights; bake at 375°F for 15–20 minutes, remove weights, then 7–10 more minutes if needed.
Storage: Chill dough 2 hours up to 5 days, or freeze up to 3 months.

Nutrition