The best, easiest, tastiest homemade pie crust ever. Perfect for holiday baking.
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.
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.
Homemade Pie Crust
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
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.
Don’t forget to pin to your holiday board:
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