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Home » Collections » Pies » Homemade Pie Crust
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Homemade Pie Crust

By Rachael | Updated on August 27, 2019

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Homemade Pie Crust

Homemade pie crust is a flaky, tender crust that has all the buttery smooth bottom for any type of pie. Add in your favorite filling and impress your family and friends this holiday season.

Homemade pie crust is just what you need to make this holiday pie making season perfect!

Making pies is a tradition that I will always cherish in our family. The best, easiest, tastiest homemade pie crust ever. Perfect for holiday baking.

We love fresh fruit pies and homemade pie crust work perfectly for them. Try this Cranberry Walnut Pie, Caramel Apple Slab Pie, Peach Pie or Strawberry Pie with my homemade pie crust.

Homemade pie crust, easy to make, flaky, and delicious

I am a big fan of finding short cuts for things when it makes sense to do so. But sometimes, sometimes, it is worth the extra effort to make something easy and delicious even better.

Pie crusts for your holiday baking could be done with a shortcut, buy a pre-made crust, or a roll out crust at the grocery store. But in my humble opinion, it is one thing that if you can do it yourself, you should.

Pie crust is not as hard or scary as people think it is. I get it, rolling out, trying to make it even and not have holes in it etc. a little overwhelming to be sure.

BUT…with a good rolling pin, a tiny bit of patience, and a few simple ingredients that you will likely find in your pantry, you have not just a carrier for filling, but a light, flaky, delicious pastry for your pie. It elevates the whole thing, and is worth the effort.

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Homemade Pie Crust

Pie Crust!

So let’s talk about this homemade pie crust…

People have their preferences, some want a butter based pie crust, some want shortening. This one is shortening.

While I love a good butter pie crust, for a slab pie, or for holiday baking, this particular crust is my favorite.

The recipe, has been passed down for generations. My grandmother gave it to my mother, my mother gave it to me.

It has been part of our holidays for as long as I can remember, and is a recipe that is simple, but effective.

How do you make a simple pie crust?

To make a simple pie crust you need water, flour, a fat (butter or shortening), some vinegar, salt. And a touch of patience.
You mix it all together and roll it out!
There are some tricks and tips for making it even and easier, but all in all, the key is finding the right ratios of ingredients to get a flaky, tender, flavorful crust to carry whatever delicious filling you decide to add.

How do you make a good pie crust?

 A good pie crust requires a good recipe. See below. And a little patience.

How do you make a flaky pie crust?

The key to a flaky pie crust is sifting your flour and cutting in your butter or shortening. The right fat, and the right amount of fat makes all the difference.

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Homemade pie crust, great for all your holiday pies

Can I make ahead? Yes! 

I am all about making things easy and less stressful. This is a great to make ahead and leave wrapped and flat in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

If you are needing to wait longer on the crust, freezing it would be best. 

What goes good with this recipe

Any fruit or creamy filling is perfect for this slab or pie crust.

Make this a complete meal starting out with your main dish How to Cook a Perfect Turkey with sides like No Knead Dinner Rolls, Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole then fill your homemade pie crust with a Pecan Pie.

Can I freeze homemade pie crust?

Homemade pie crust is best fresh but this makes for a great freezer friendly crust. Using parchment paper roll out your pie crust.

Placing the parchment paper on bottom of the dough. Place another piece of parchment paper over the top of the pie crust dough and roll flat.

Carefully place the pie crust and parchment paper onto a cookie sheet pan. Cover with plastic or aluminum wrap and freeze.

Freeze for 1 month.

Shortening vs. butter

Not all fats are created equal and are used the same.

  • Shortening: Melts at a high melting point, shortening aids in creating flakiness. Flaky, tender, melt-in-your mouth crust.
  • Butter: Butter has an amazing flavor. Nothing compares to butter and its smooth, creaminess.
  • Using both: You can even use both butter and shortening to create a tender, flaky crust that is full of rich buttery flavor. All around perfection!

Try your Pie Crust with these Pie recipes:

  • Dutch Apple Pie
  • Buttermilk Pie
  • Coconut Cream Pie
  • Sweet Potato Pie
  • Chocolate Pie
Homemade pie crust, easy to make, flaky, and delicious

Homemade Pie Crust

How to make a homemade pie crust, with shortening. It is light and flaky and delicious.
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Print Pin Rate
Course: Pastry
Cuisine: American
Keyword: homemade pie crust, pie crust
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Total Time: 23 minutes
Servings: 2 pie crusts
Calories: 3061kcal
Author: Rachael

Ingredients

  • 2 egg
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbs vinegar
  • 5 cups flour
  • 2 Tbs sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups shortening

Instructions

  • Combine egg, water, and vinegar in a bowl.
  • Whip with a fork until light and frothy. Set aside.
  • In separate bowl, mix together, flour, sugar and salt.
  • Using a paddle attachment on a mixer, or using a fork and mixing by hand, cut shortening into the flour mixture
  • Add wet ingredients to flour and shortening mixture and mix well. (Again you can use your hands)
  • When everything is incorporated, and the dough is slightly sticky, but not sticking to the edges of the bowl, use a wet cloth to dampen the counter space you are working in, and put wax paper on top of the damp spot.
  • Put a little flour on the wax paper and then roll out half of your unbaked crust dough, you want a rectangle big enough to fill the bottom of a jellyroll pan plus some, so the edges come up and over the pan by about a centimeter. I use a 12 1/2 x 17 jelly roll pan or cookie sheet (Everyone calls them something different)
  • If baking to fill with a cream filling or something that needs a pre-baked crust, bake at 425 degrees for 10-13 minutes. But, before baking, use a fork to prick the bottom to provide air holes so it doesn't bubble. And use pie weights!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 3061kcal | Carbohydrates: 250g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 212g | Saturated Fat: 53g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 2405mg | Potassium: 395mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 15.4mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @ezpzmealz or tag #ezpzmealz!
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!

Homemade Pie Crust Nutrition Facts

Don’t forget to pin to your holiday board:

Homemade pie crust, great for all your holiday pies

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Related categories:
Bakery Piesbaking homemade pie crust pie crust

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Margo says

    November 11, 2017 at 2:16 pm

    What do you put your oven at and for how long do you cook the pie crust.
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 13, 2017 at 4:23 pm

      Hi Margo, 425 degrees for 10-13 minutes, but poke the bottom with a fork a few times, and use pie weights if you aren't cooking it with filling inside it.
      Reply
  2. Jan says

    November 12, 2017 at 8:39 am

    If I am making a savory pie such as quiche or meat pie, I would leave the sugar out. My grandmother always used shortening in her pie crust and it was the flakiest, most delicious pie crust. Can't wait to try your recipe
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 13, 2017 at 4:17 pm

      That is a great suggestion. Thank you!
      Reply
  3. kathy says

    November 12, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    There are no baking instructions. Oven temperature and time.
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 13, 2017 at 4:17 pm

      Oh my goodness, okay, so this is because typically I use this recipe in recipes that call for a pie crust, rather than a ready made. But if you want to use it for something like a cream pie, or a pie that you aren't baking the filling inside the crust, so you need the crust to be pre-cooked, you would bake it at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes, but you would want to prick the bottom with a fork several times, to make airways, and use pie weights, to keep it from bubbling up. It is an excellent crust for this.
      Reply
  4. Susan Hardesty says

    November 13, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    I am baking a pie with this recipe right now! I loved how easy it was to roll out. Can the temaining dough be frozen?
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 13, 2017 at 4:09 pm

      Susan, I have not tried, it, but I do not see why not.
      Reply
  5. Susan Hardesty says

    November 13, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    Ok, this is officially my favorite crust EVER! I baked a peach pie, and we just ate a piece. Thank you so much for sharing! It is wonderful!
    Reply
  6. Karla says

    November 22, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    The recipe calls for 2 eggs Vinegar And Water Twice, am I to use All that?
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 23, 2017 at 1:33 pm

      Oh my goodness! Thanks for pointing that out. Somehow when I moved my recipe over from my word doc that I use when recipe testing into my recipe card, that first part copied over twice. Thank you for catching that. Appreciate it.
      Reply
  7. Paula says

    November 12, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    What kind of shortening would you recommend? I’m really new to this!
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 12, 2018 at 4:44 pm

      I use Crisco all vegetable shortening. Thanks for asking.
      Reply
  8. Pam Webb says

    November 21, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    I’m excited to try this recipe! How many standard pie shells do you think this would make?
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 22, 2018 at 9:45 am

      It makes 4 standard pie shells, I should have included that. Thank you!
      Reply
  9. Kathy says

    November 25, 2018 at 1:30 pm

    Is there a gluten-free version of this recipe? If so, would you please provide. Thank you!
    Reply
  10. Michelle says

    December 1, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    I’m relatively new to crusts, so this is the first crust recipe that I’ve seen that has both egg & vinegar. Can you tell me what they add to the final product?
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      December 3, 2019 at 6:19 pm

      The egg makes it pliable and more rollable. The vinegar inhibits the gluten from over developing, which keeps it tender and flaky.
      Reply

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Rachael from Eazy Peazy Mealz

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