Pie Crust Recipe

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine the dry ingredients.

Add the cold butter cubes to the food processor. Pulse 8-10 times, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas.

Add 6 tablespoons of ice-cold water. Pulse just until the dough just starts to come together, adding one more tablespoon of cold water if the dough seems too dry. The dough should still look crumbly at this point, but it should hold together if you press it between your fingers.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball and then cut the dough in half. Shape each half of the dough into a round disk.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.

Add the cold butter cubes to the bowl. Use a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the largest pieces of butter are the size of small peas.

Add 6 tablespoons of ice-cold water. Use a fork to mix the dough until it comes together into a shaggy ball, adding one additional tablespoon of water if the dough seems too dry.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to shape it into a ball and then cut the dough in half. Shape each half of the dough into a round disk.

Each disk of dough can be immediately rolled out into a pie crust (without chilling) or stored in the refrigerator or freezer for later. To store, wrap airtight in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen pie crust dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out. If the chilled dough is too firm to roll out, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to take the chill off.

To make a pie, roll out a disk of dough into a 12-inch round and transfer it to a deep-dish pie pan. You can gently wrap the dough around your rolling pin or gently fold it into quarters to make it easier to transfer. Lightly fit the dough into the pie dish. Do not press it down or the crust may stick to the pie dish after baking.

Add your filling to the pie and then top with the second rolled out crust, if desired (cut slits in the top for steam to escape). Trim the edges so that only ½-inch hangs over the edge of the pie dish. Fold the edges under and flute/crimp as desired. Bake as directed in your recipe. Or, blind bake the pie crust empty if your pie recipe calls for blind baking.

To blind bake, prick the crust all over the bottom and sides with a fork. Chill pie crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, until firm. Cut out a 12-inch round of parchment paper and fit it into the pie crust. Fill with pie weights, dry beans or rice. Bake at 375° F for 20 minutes. Then remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Return pie crust to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes more, until golden brown. (For a par-baked/partially baked crust - one you plan to bake again with a filling, such as pumpkin pie, bake for 5-6 minutes after removing the pie weights, until barely golden on the bottom, then add your filling and bake.)

Let the pie crust cool and then fill it with your desired filling.