Pie Crust Recipe with Butter and Shortening

Try making this Pie Crust Recipe with Butter and Shortening, all-purpose flour, salt, and ice water. It creates a homemade pie crust that is simple to make, buttery, and flaky. Perfect to use to make your favorite pie!

Use this homemade pie crust as the base for an Easy Sweet Potato Pie, Southern Pecan Pie, or Brown Sugar Pie. 

It's almost officially Thanksgiving! A day to indulge in some good food and possibly over-eat yourself into a food coma and watch football in preparation to begin holiday shopping. At least that's how my day usually goes. 

Now there are a few dishes that I absolutely must have on Thanksgiving Day. And that's of course turkey, baked ham, cornbread dressing, and last but certainly not least some sweet potato pie. I usually make my sweet potato pie with a frozen or refrigerated pie crust. So if you choose to do that then just know that you'll still have a tasty pie. But this year I decided to make pie crust from scratch.

Call me ambitious, but sometimes I like a challenge to keep me on my toes. It makes me feel that I'm growing my baking skills. 

So before you say that making a pie crust is too hard, let me tell you that it really isn't. Just remember to keep all of your ingredients cool, this is super important. You will also need to pull out your rolling pin for this one. 

Those are the main two things that I must stress to you about this recipe. So be sure to give it a try, I know that you can do it. 

Let's get started!

Equipment Needed

• Make the process easy by using a food processor, but a large mixing bowl and pastry blender or clean hands could be used instead. 
• A rolling pin is needed to roll out the pie dough. 
• A large pie dish or 9-inch pie plate to place the finished pie crust into is needed. 

Ingredients You'll Need

1. All-purpose flour - Plain flour with nothing added to it is needed to make the base of the crust and give it structure and great texture. You can sift the flour before using it if you prefer but it is not necessary.
2. Butter - Any salted or unsalted brand of butter that you prefer will work. Try to opt for high-quality butter since it's what makes the pie crust buttery and flaky. Make sure that you're using cold butter! You can cut it into smaller cubes or grate it using a box grater for easier mixing/processing. 
3. Shortening - A staple used by my grandmother, helps to make the pie crust come together and be slightly crispy and flaky. The shortening can be cold as well or at room temperature. I love using Crisco shortening sticks for easy measuring, be sure to use the unflavored version. 
4. Salt - This ingredient prevents the crust from tasting flat by bringing out the flavors in all of the other ingredients. I love using kosher salt for baking. 
5. Ice Water - The most important part of the process because it combines with the flour mixture to create the pie crust dough. I usually add ice to some water and allow it to sit and become cold before using it to make sure it is very cold.  

See the recipe card below for exact simple ingredients and instructions.

Step By Step Instructions

Begin the recipe by grabbing a food processor. If you prefer to use a large mixing bowl and a pastry cutter/pastry blender, then you may use that instead. 

To the food processor, add the all-purpose flour, cold cubed butter, shortening, and salt.

Process until it resembles a coarse meal. If there are still a few larger chunks left in the mixture, that is perfectly fine. 

While the food processor is still going, add in the cold water a tablespoon at a time until it begins to stick together and become big clumpy dough balls. 

Turn off the food processor and remove the pie dough. If at this point you find the pie dough isn't fully coming together to form a single dough ball, add a small amount of additional all-purpose flour to a clean work surface and knead the dough until it forms a dough ball.

Be sure not to overwork the dough, just enough for it to stick together to form a large ball. If you need a single large pie crust, form one dough ball. However, if you need two 9-inch pie crusts or you're making a double-crust pie, divide the dough into two equal-sized balls of dough. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill. 

Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but you may leave it for up to 24 hours. 

Remove the pie from the refrigerator and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. Place it on a lightly floured surface and lightly flour the rolling pin before rolling it out into a 9 to 12-inch circle. 

You can also place it between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out as well.

Roll up the flattened crust loosely onto the rolling pin before picking it up to roll it out on top of the pie pan. 

Lightly press the sides of the crust into the bottom and sides of the pan, trim off the excess, then use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pie crust.

Place the pie crust into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the pastry, this will also help prevent the crust from shrinking during baking.

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator, fill it with your favorite pie filling, and bake according to the recipe instructions. If you need to blind bake (with pie weights) or prebake the pie crust before using, then at this point you can go ahead and place it into the oven to bake. Enjoy!

Blind Baking Pie Crust

If you need a fully-baked pie crust or par-baked pie crust for your particular pie recipe, then place a large piece of parchment paper inside the unbaked pie crust.

Add pie weights or fill with dry beans or uncooked rice. Smooth it out in an even layer before placing it in the oven to bake at 375 degrees F. for about 10 to 15 minutes. Just until the crust begins to lightly brown and appear to be set. Carefully remove it from the oven and remove the parchment paper.

Now it is ready to use. You can prick it all over with a fork and return it to the oven to allow it to continue to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes if you need a fully baked pie crust for your pie recipe. 

Tips & Tricks to Make the Best Pie Crust 

• Try not to overwork the dough. Once it comes together stop handling it or you will end up with a chewy pie crust instead of flaky layers. 
• This pie crust can be doesn't contain sugar so it can be used for both sweet and savory pies. Use it for apple pie, pumpkin pie, or chicken pot pie and quiche. 
• The biggest tip to making the perfect homemade pie crust recipe is using cold ingredients and keeping them cold throughout the process. At any point while handling the dough you notice it becomes too warm, stop and place it in the refrigerator to allow it to chill a bit before continuing. 
• Don't forget to divide the dough in half if you need a top crust and a bottom crust. 
• Use a glass pie dish for best results. It holds heat the best and ensures the pie crust will bake evenly and lightly brown. 

Storage Tips

Storage. Cover the pie crust in the pie dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. Rolled out in the pie plate, the crust can be stored for 1 to 2 days. 

Make Ahead. You can make the pie crust ahead of time to use it later. Simply complete the recipe instructions up until you wrap the pie dough in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Freezing. The unbaked butter pie crust freezes well. After you wrap the pie dough in pie crust, make sure it's a double layer of plastic wrap. Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When you're ready to use it, transfer it to the refrigerator and allow it to thaw overnight before rolling it out. If you would like to freeze the baked pie crust, simply blind bake it and allow it to cool completely before covering it well or placing it in a freezer bag. Then store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to use remove from the freezer and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator before using. 

Want a Few Ways to Use this Perfect Crust? Try these:

• Easy Sweet Potato Pie
• Southern Pecan Pie Recipe
• Brown Sugar Pie
• Lemonade Pie
• Peach Galette
• Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie 
• Sun Dried Tomato Quiche 

Have any comments, questions, or other delicious ways to use this Easy Pie Crust Recipe? Please share them in the comments below!

📖 Recipe

Original post date 11/26/2020. Updated 11/10/2023.