Last Updated on September 19, 2021 by Chenée Lewis
Homemade all-butter pie crust is a truly magical thing. For many years in my baking I used store-bought pie crust, and I still don’t have anything against store-bought crust if time is a factor. But if you have a stand mixer or food processor and a few minutes to try it out, this pie crust is actually super easy to make yourself, and totally worth it.
For this all-butter pie crust recipe you’ll either need a food processor or a stand mixer. A food processor works more quickly, but I’ve found that a stand mixer can do the job too! The key is to make sure that the bowls and attachments stay cold, and NOT to overmix! Pie crust can be intimidating, but once you try this easy all-butter pie crust you’ll be making homemade pie crust every time!
Break out that vodka!
If you’ve got a bar cart with a little spare booze, this is your moment! Half of the liquid in the dough is vodka, and you might be wondering why…
Vodka evaporates more quickly, which allows those flaky bits to form more easily in the oven, and because it replaces water, there’s less water to promote gluten development in the dough. The alcohol cooks off, and because vodka is basically flavorless, there’s not impact on the flavor of the crust. The result is a tender, flaky all butter pie crust that is much more forgiving than a typical all-butter crust.
If you don’t have vodka, you can use any spirit with at least 40% alcohol, like tequila, rum, or whiskey, but just be aware of the flavor that your spirit of choice might produce in your crust. Although to me, a pie crust with hints of bourbon or rum sounds very interesting! If you don’t have vodka or another spirit, white vinegar is a great alternative.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour – be sure to measure your flour correctly — either using a food scale to measure out 160 grams (my recommendation), or use the spoon-and-level method.
- sugar – you can omit sugar if you’re using this recipe for a savory recipe like chicken pot pie, or my Heirloom Tomato Galette with Herbs.
- salt – Just a bit of salt helps to add flavor to this all butter pie crust!
- butter – Your butter should be very cold. I like to take the butter straight from the fridge, cut it into ½-inch cubes, and then pop it into the fridge for about 15 minutes to get it extra cold. If you use salted butter, cut your salt down to ¼ teaspoon.
- ice water – Again, it should be icy cold! I like to let some water sit in a cup with a few ice cubes in it, and then measure my water from that cup.
- vodka – this is the most important ingredient to get that flaky texture! What you’ll do is add vodka to bring the dough together and allow it to be pliable, but because vodka doesn’t affect gluten formation as much as water does, your pie crust will remain flaky.
Equipment
For this all butter pie crust recipe, you’ll need either a stand mixer, a food processor, or a pastry blender. Once the dough comes together and is chilled, you’ll also need a rolling pin to roll it out and place it into your pie pan.
Related Recipes
Once you’ve made this flaky all butter pie crust recipe, you’re ready to make some pie! Try my Brown Butter Black Bottom Sweet Potato Pie for an incredible spin on a fall and holiday classic!
Or you can also use this flaky all butter pie crust recipe for savory treats! I use this pie crust for my Breakfast Quiche with Leeks, Bacon, and Asparagus and in my Heirloom Tomato Galette with Herbs.
And don’t forget — for those pie dough scraps be sure to whip up a batch of my Pie Crust Cookie Twists!
Flaky All Butter Pie Crust Recipe
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeEquipment you may need
- pastry cutter
- nonstick pastry mat
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour - (160g), plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter - cubed and very cold
- 2 tbsp ice water
- 2 tbsp vodka - plus more as needed (see note)
Instructions
- Cube cold butter into ½-inch cubes and place in freezer for 15 minutes to chill.
- Measure your flour (with a kitchen scale, if you have one) and add to bowl of food processor or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. You can also just add it to a large bowl if mixing with a pastry blender.
- Add your cubed butter straight from the freezer, and pulse, or mix on the lowest setting, or cut with pastry blender until butter is incorporated into flour in small, pea-sized lumps.
- Add in your cold water, and mix to incorporate. Then add vodka as needed to allow dough to come together.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, form into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours, or overnight.
- Roll out onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until it's 12 inches in diameter. Carefully roll onto rolling pin to transfer into your pan.
- To transfer to pie pan, wrap pie crust gently around floured rolling pin, hold rolling pin above the edge of the pie pan, and gently unroll. Press crust lightly into pan and crimp sides.
Notes
PIN this pie crust recipe for later!
Love the step by step instructions, so easy to follow and the pie crust is perfect!
Thank you! I’m so glad it worked out for you!
This pie crust was absolutely perfect! Just in time for my holiday baking needs.
Awesome! It gets a lot of use over here around thanksgiving too!
This recipe most definitely lives up to its name! So buttery and flaky and DELICIOUS! This will definitely be my go to recipe!
Thank you so much! It’s my go-to as well!
This is a fantastic all-butter pie crust! Comes out perfectly flaky each time.
Wonderful! I’m so glad it’s working well for you!
I’ve never added vodka to my dough until now! It worked quite well! Thank you for the great recipe!
I’m so glad it helped! Thanks!
I’ve never made own pie crust before, but you had me at vodka! I’ll definitely be trying this over the holidays for my sweet potato pie. Who knew making your own pie crust was so simple. Thanks for the recipe!
Great! Yeah it’s much simpler than you’d think! Let me know how it goes for you 🙂
The vodka really made the baked pie its flakiest. I’m definitely going to be doubling a batch to freeze for my holiday baking.
That’s a great idea! Glad you liked it!
I love an all butter pie crust and also love these step by step instructions with photos and recommended tools! This recipe is well-written and so easy to follow!
I’m so glad it’s helpful! Thanks!
Chenee to the rescue again! I am working on becoming a better baker this holiday season because my pie crusts are inconsistent. Thanks for the pro tips, they’re so appreciated!
I’m so glad this is helpful! I’m right there with you so we all can work on becoming better bakers together!
First of all, you had me at Vodka! In pie crust?! Blew my mind! Brilliant! I made this pie crust for one of my vegan pies and it was the perfect match. So thankful I found this recipe!!
So good to know it works in vegan pie crust too! Fantastic!
I used this recipe to make my apple pie and it was incredible! So flaky, buttery, and it browned perfectly in the oven! This is my new go to recipe!
Wonderful! I’m so glad it worked out for you.