Perfect Pie Crust

Perfect Pie Crust

from simplyrecipes.com
75 min
8 servings

If you're intimidated by pie dough, this flaky pie crust recipe is for you. We'll demystify the dough as we walk you through every step for the perfect pie crust. Use all butter or a combo of butter and shortening. Plus, learn how to blind-bake a pie crust.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Directions

  1. 1

    Mix the flour, sugar, and salt: Put flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to mix.

  2. 2

    Freeze the crust it for at least a half hour: until chilled. This is an important step in pre-baking. Otherwise the crust will slip down the sides. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

  3. 3

    Make the dough: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse 4 times. Add shortening in tablespoon sized chunks, and pulse 4 more times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no bigger than peas. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over flour mixture. Pulse a couple times. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, keep adding water, a teaspoon at a time, pulsing once after each addition, until the mixture just begins to clump together.

  4. 4

    Beat egg yolk with cream and brush on the surface of the pie with a pastry brush.