Pie Crust - Balled Universal Pie Crust
Baking · Breads and Pasta · Dessert · Recipes

Universal Pie Crust

TJ Fox

I say this is a universal pie crust because it really does work amazingly well in any application you need pie crust.

Pie Crust - Ingredients

This is also a super easy recipe. Most pie crusts can be finicky and you have to be careful not to overwork them or they get tough and aren’t as good. This one can handle being worked.

Universal Pie Crust

1 1/4 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 T. Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cups Cold Butter, cut into pieces
1/8 Cup Ice Water (up to 1/4 cup if needed)

In a food processor, mix flour salt and sugar. Add butter and process until the butter is fully combined and the mixture starts to barely clump together. Add water and mix until it balls up.

Remove the dough and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Makes enough for 1 – 9 inch pie top and bottom.*

You can make this without a food processor, but be ready to do a lot of work to get that butter worked in. Either a hand pastry blender or a fork will do and more than likely you won’t quite get the same texture the food processor does, but you will possibly have a slightly flakier crust. This crust is consistent, but on the slightly crumbly side because of the amount of butter.

I marked the amount this makes with an * because it really does depend on how thin or thick you like your crust. When I made this at Thanksgiving, my crust for the base of 2 pies was almost too thin. I think my pie pans are also a bit bigger than standard, so I’m just a bit iffy on that. That and I almost always use this for my pot pies and that doesn’t fit any standard.

This does amazingly well frozen so you can always make too much and freeze whatever you don’t use.

Published by TJ Fox

I am a slightly sane artist, amateur photographer, book addict, wife, mom and raging introvert. I have more hobbies than I can count, so it is beyond shocking that I manage to find time to do any of them, let alone most of them and still have time to do anything else. Of all the talents I claim, writing wasn’t one of them until my muse dropped the idea for a book on my head.

11 thoughts on “Universal Pie Crust”

    1. I think it also depends on what you like. If you really like the super flaky crust, this won’t be that. Most crust is kind of blah for me on flavor, so that is one of the reasons why I like this one so much.

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      2. I do think it is possible to overwork this, but I think it would take a lot to get there. I made a ton of little mini muffin size crusts for a crab dip shell several years ago and had to keep rolling this out and they all still came out great.

        Liked by 1 person

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