Finally, a homemade pie crust doesn’t tear easily and is super easy to work with! I love that it doesn’t require chilling and uses butter, not Crisco.
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You know the saying ‘easy as pie’? Well, this recipe makes that reality because it truly does make pie making easy!
Several years ago I created this easy homemade pie crust recipe after getting frustrated with the Never Fail Pie Crust recipe that I had been using for years. Because for some reason, it wasn’t holding up to its name anymore and I was getting rather tired of the dough tearing every time I tried to make it. So I experimented a bit and came up with this recipe.
I love that you don’t have to chill the dough before rolling it and I also love that it uses butter, not Crisco and as a result, is healthier. It also handles well, doesn’t tear easily and makes a wonderfully, delicious flaky crust.
You’ll see that the recipe makes 3 crusts. If you don’t need 3 pies at one time, simply freeze the other crusts. You can freeze them baked or unbaked. Also, I can often get a fourth crust out of the scraps that are leftover from the other 3 crusts. It doesn’t look as nice, but it works.
Another thing you can do with the scraps is to combine them all into a ball and then roll the dough out. Cut it into smallish pieces and spread jelly on one half, then fold over the top and pinch the sides together to make a pop-over of sorts. I like to also sprinkle a bit of sugar on the top before baking them until lightly brown. So yummy!
If you are new to pie-making, you might find Eat Your Heart Out’s pie-making tutorial helpful. Oh, and I highly recommend getting a Pastry Blender (this is the one I have) if you don’t have one. It’s making working the butter into the dough super easy.
EASY HOMEMADE PIE CRUST
Easy Homemade Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup butter, softened slightly
- 3 tbsp. milk
- 3 tbsp. cold water
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. (I use a pastry blender, but two forks might work okay too.)
- Combine milk, water, and oil, then sprinkle in, tossing with a fork until mixture is moistened. Do not over-mix.
- Divide into 3 pieces; form into balls.
- Roll out crust on lightly floured counter and use as desired.
- If you want, combine scraps and create a 4th crust.
- If you need to use this in a recipe that needs the crust baked first, prick the sides and bottom of the crust several times with a fork (helps prevent shrinkage) and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 10-12 minutes.
Notes
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Rachel
I followed all of the measurements, and my dough is still basically flour consistency. It would not form a ball or roll out into dough. I’m definitely a novice baker but it did not go well at all haha. Ive used other recipes to make homemade pie crust before, not sure where I went wrong with this one!
Lydia Beiler
Oh dear, I’m so sorry, Rachel! That sounds very frustrating. I really am not sure what went wrong as this is the only pie crust recipe that I use and I’ve made it dozens of times without issue. In fact, if anything, I’ve had times where it felt a bit too wet. Again, I’m really sorry as I hate when ingredients are wasted and a recipe flops.
shannessy
Do you think I could use olive oil instead of vegetable oiL?
ThriftyFrugalMom
I’ve never done it before, but I wouldn’t be too scared to sub it as long as it’s not a strong tasting olive oil. The only thing it might do is mess with the crust consistency a big. If you do it, I’d love to know how it works for you!
Brenda
Can I use white whole wheat flour to make it even healthier? Or will it not turn out the same?
ThriftyFrugalMom
That’s a good question, Brenda! I have subbed part whole wheat flour in other recipes, but never thought of doing it with pie crust, so I’m not entirely sure how it would work. My guess is that it wouldn’t take as much flour and that it wouldn’t be quite as flaky. If you want to try it, I’d recommend trying it with 1/4 whole wheat flour first just to see how it works and then increasing from that amount. If you do end up making it with whole wheat flour, I’d love to know how it works for you!
Dustin nogle
Can you freeze the homemade pie crust
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, Dustin, you can freeze them baked or unbaked. If unbaked, just let them come to room temp before using.