Easy All Butter Pie Dough

The secret to the perfect slice of homemade pie is in this all butter pie dough recipe. Made with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time, you’ll get a tender and flaky buttery crust every time!

I’ll be honest. For many years I defaulted to using Pillsbury premade pie dough because making homemade pie crust intimidated me. Then I realized how simple it actually is to make your own and got over my fears.

I’m sharing a simple, basically foolproof recipe for a pie crust that is so buttery, tender, and flaky, it almost melts in your mouth.

It’s an easy one to whip up that requires just a couple of hours of chill time! This recipe is enough for one crust, but if you need a top and bottom crust, easily double it.

If you have extra time, you can even whip up a few and keep some frozen. That way, they’ll be ready whenever you need them and you don’t have to worry about using store-bought pie dough.

I’ve used it for everything from a fresh strawberry pie to a chicken pot pie and every pie in between!

If you’re looking for a crust with shortening, try my grandma’s no fail pie crust recipe.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – It’s really important to measure your flour accurately. You don’t want your pie crust tasting floury, and you don’t want it too dense either.
• Granulated white sugar – Gives the dough just the right amount of sweetness so that it’s not too bland.
• Salt – Enhances the overall flavor of the butter pie crust. It’s needed because we’re using unsalted butter.
• Unsalted butter – COLD butter, cut into cubes. Cold butter, ice water, and chilling the dough all contribute to the resulting tender, flaky crust.
• Ice water – Water brings the dry mixture together to form a dough, but it needs to be cold as ice!

How to make Butter Pie Dough

1. Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt. Then, cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture using either a fork or a pastry cutter. It should be coarse crumbles with pea-sized pieces of butter.

2. Step 2: Add just a tablespoon at a time of water. To bring the dough into a crumbly pile of dough. You can use up to 6 tablespoons of water. Not using enough will result in cracks when you roll out the dough. It is better to be slightly wet than too dry. 

3. Step 3: Pour the dough onto a clean surface and mold it into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten it like a disk. Chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

4. Step 4: When you’re ready to bake it, roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to approximately 1/8” thick. Start from the center and work your way outward. Place it on a pie plate and use it for your favorite pie recipe!

Using a Food Processor

If you prefer to use a food processor instead of a pastry cutter, that works as well. The texture will change a bit as the butter will be in smaller pieces, but the process is the same. I am often too lazy to get out my food processor 🙃

Make Ahead & Freeze

How to store homemade butter pie dough

If you’re not ready to use the dough just yet, keep the wrapped disks in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure they’re well sealed and place them in a freezer bag.

Thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to use it.

4.67 from 3 votes

Easy All Butter Pie Dough

Created by Melissa Williams

Servings: 1 crust

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

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The secret to the perfect slice of homemade pie is in this all butter pie dough recipe. Made with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time, you'll get a tender and flaky buttery crust every time!

Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon granulated white sugar
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter COLD, cut into small cubes
• ▢ 3-6 Tablespoons ice water

Instructions

• To a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar.
  1 ¼ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon granulated white sugar
• Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until it looks like a coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter.
  ½ cup unsalted butter
• One tablespoon at a time, add the water, using a fork to pull the dough into a crumbly pile, adding up to 6 tablespoons, if needed.
  3-6 Tablespoons ice water
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk.
• Move it to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Once ready to use, lightly flour a surface and a rolling pin and roll the dough, starting at the center, to approximately ⅛" thick.
• The recipe makes enough for one single pie crust – double the recipe if you need a top and bottom crust.

Notes

• Use a silicone mat to help bring crumbly dough together.
• Keep all ingredients cold until mixing.
• Freeze butter cubes for 30 minutes before using.
• A food processor works instead of a pastry cutter—pulse gently.
• If dough gets too soft or sticky, chill it briefly.
• Bake in a glass pie dish for even browning and visibility.

⭐️ Final Step! Please let me know how you liked this recipe by leaving a review and rating below. Your feedback supports my small business and allows me to continue providing free, high quality recipes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1390kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 94g | Saturated Fat: 59g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 244mg | Sodium: 1180mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2836IU | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 7mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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