Flakiest Pie Crust

Just so so pie crust in my family was not good enough. It had to be flaky and the right thickness. I have had plenty of pies where the crust is too thick, not cooked long enough, tough, and flavorless. I have the trick for flaky crust below, so keep reading.  A good crust is what makes a great pie!

Growing up, at our family dinners, pie was the dessert. I would sit around the dining room table listening to my mom and grandma critique the pie crust. They talked about what problems they had making it and that they didn’t think it was going to be good.

Well I have news for you, my mom and grandma rocked the pie crust world! They both made excellent crust and I was lucky enough to have them teach me. They are no longer around the table to talk about the crust but I can still hear what they might have said about my crust. Each pie I make I think of them and wish they could try it. Ok, I’m getting a bit chocked up. My sister and I have now taken over talking about it. Now, I am teaching my daughter Emily the art of great, flaky crust.

           

So here is the trick to a flaky pie crust, use shortening or butter that is ice cold and do not, I repeat do not over mix the dough. Also, be sure to use ice cold water. Sounds easy enough, right? 

How to Get the Shortening or Butter Ice Cold?

1. Put the shortening/butter in the freezer until it is cold, not frozen but very cold  OR
2. Fill a measuring cup with water and ice and put the shortening/butter in it until it’s cold

I have done it both ways and each way works. It takes about 10 minutes to get it cold.

I have made this pie crust recipe with shortening and butter. They both come out great. It comes down to preference of which one you want to use. I prefer butter because I like the flavor the butter gives and I always have it the refrigerator.

What to do if you Have Extra Pie Dough?

First off, I hope you do have extra. You never know how a crust is going to turn out until you cut the pie, so if you have extra you get to sample it. In my family we would put the extra into a pie tin and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over it, bake it and then taste it. This is when you get to see how flaky it turned out and give yourself some praise for making a top notch crust.

In the picture below you will see the layers. Lots of layers = flaky goodness.

You might want to fill your delicious pie crust with my recipe for The Best Coconut Cream Pie.