Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yields: 2 pie crusts

Ingredients

• 2-½ cups of all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (very cold butter)
• ¼-½ cup of ice cold water
• 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar

Directions

A few key points about making pie crust at home – besides that it is so much more delicious than store bought, even though there are some great options out there when you’re in a rush!  First, your butter and water need to be COLD. You do not want your butter to melt as you’re working with it.  The chunks of butter that you will see in your dough is how you end up with a flakey pie crust.  Second, the addition of vinegar helps tenderize the dough and make it softer and I find easier to work with.  If you’re missing vinegar in the house – you can definitely make this recipe without and still be successful.  Lastly, I usually use a pastry cutter, but a food processor would also work well and quickly.

1. Add flour, sugar and salt to a large bowl.
2. Add 1 cup of cubed and very cold butter.
3. Cut the butter and dry ingredients together with a pastry cutter or food processor until you obtain the consistency of peas
4. Add vinegar to your ice water and combine.
5. Add water/vinegar mixture to the dough 2 tablespoons at a time. You do not want very wet dough. You want just enough water to bring the dough together. 
6. Once you achieve this, transfer the dough to a flat surface to work it into a rectangle.  Depending on the recipes I have in the pipeline, I usually separate the dough into 2 or 3 flat discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using. Remember – this dough should go into the oven cold!

Note, this dough freezes quite well, just thaw in the refrigerator before using.

Love pies?  Check out our Pies category for great recipes like Classic Apple Pie and Caramelized Peach Cobbler.