All-Butter Pie Crust

Pie crust. Oh, pie crust.

Let’s just say I’m a bit of a crust fanatic (as you may have noticed, what with this being the second crust recipe I’ve posted in 2 months– the first being this buttermilk pie crust). My grandmother makes a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving every year, and she always decorates the top with leaf-shaped crust cutouts, which I often snatch right off and eat plain. This recipe is from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book (aka from the same people who brought you my Salty Honey Pie and Black Bottom Oat Pie) and it is so simple, so flaky so buttery, so… well, yummy. It takes all of 10-15 minutes to prepare, but make sure to put it together ahead of time, as it needs to sit in the fridge for a good half hour before rolling. Now, this is the recipe for two 9-inch pie crusts, but if you want to make a single-crusted pie, just halve it.

This recipe starts with– you guessed it– butter! Cold butter, that is. Nope, no softened stuff here (or in any pie crust really). Cut it into 1/4 inch cubes and pop it into the fridge again while you assemble the dry ingredients.

Get yourself a large bowl and scoop in some flour, salt, and sugar. Give these a stir.

It’s buttah time! Take the butter out of the fridge and plop it into the bowl. You may have to break up the cubes a bit.

Get the butter pieces all coated in the flour mixture with a spatula…

And then use a pastry blender (or two knives, or your fingertips!) to cut the butter into the flour. Work quickly until the butter is mostly in small pieces, with a few larger clumps.

Just like that!

Now mix together some cider vinegar, water, and ice. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of this over the flour/butter mixture, and mix it in with a spatula until it’s all combined.

Keep adding in the water mixture 2 tablespoons at a time (and get your hands in there to make sure everything is being incorporated) until you can get the dough to form a ball, with some dry crumbs remaining. You can add some more water to the dry bits if they need it, and then press everything together.

Form the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for at least half an hour (preferably more) before rolling it out.

When it’s ready, place it on a floured surface.

Roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Now arrange the dough in your pie pan, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least another 30 minutes before filling. I forgot to take a photo of the dough in the pie pan because… well, because I forgot. I’m sorry.

But hey, here’s a sneak peek at the Blueberry Nectarine Pie that I’ll be posting soon!

This crust turned out good. Really good. Try it sometime soon!

Here’s a condensed version of this recipe:

All-Butter Pie Crust

from crumbsandnibbles.com, originally from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen

Makes 2 9-inch pie crusts

Ingredients:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 cup of cold water

1/4 cup of cider vinegar

1 cup of ice

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add the butter and coat the cubes in the flour mixture, using a spatula.

3. Using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until most of the butter pieces are small, about the size of peas, with a few larger clumps.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the water, cider vinegar, and ice. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of this over the flour/butter mixture, and stir together using a spatula. Keep adding in the water mixture 2 tablespoons at a time (and get your hands in there to make sure everything is being incorporated) until you can get the dough to form a ball, with some dry crumbs remaining. You can add some more water to the dry bits if they need it, and then press everything together.

5. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for at least half an hour (preferably more) before rolling it out.

6. When chilled, take the dough out on a floured surface and roll to 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Arrange in a pie pan and chill for at least 30 more minutes before filling.

I hope you all give this recipe a try. Happy nibbling!