Homemade Butter Pie Crust: Easy, Flaky, and Perfect for Any Dish

Flaky buttery goodness to surround sweet and savory dishes. This versatile homemade butter pie crust recipe is sure to impress.

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Hopefully we all have that grandma or great aunt with the secret recipes. You know, ones that have survived generations. Passed down and handwritten on scraps of paper with notes here and there recording adjustments until perfection. To quote my brother “I don’t like pie crust except Aunt Jodi’s” Now you know- I had to have it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy – This homemade simple, buttery, flaky pie crust is perfect for both sweet and savory dishes. 

Prep Ahead – Like to have pie crust on hand? Make this dough ahead of time and either freeze or roll out into parchment paper and refrigerate for later in the week.

Ingredients

Butter – To add fat and flavor necessary for a flakey pie crust.

Salt – Without salt, it’s just bland. Salt will also add in much needed minerals.

A full list of ingredients and amounts can be found below.

What Is The Secret To A Good Pie Crust?

There is a rule in my house. Don’t let the pie crust be subpar. Any dish, sweet or savory, requiring a crust is made or ruined by it; and the secret to any crust recipe is the butter. High quality cold butter.

Creating A Flaky Butter Pie Crust

Holding shape while also giving a crust its flaky texture, butter is everything in a butter pie crust. When baking the butter melts and creates steam. Trapped in the dough, this creates air pockets that cool into layers creating that irresistible flaky texture. Did you know that prior to Crisco, butter and lard were the original shortening?

How To Easily Cut In Butter

The best way to achieve a flaky texture is for the butter to be evenly distributed throughout the dough. How to do this? Grating your cold butter.

How To Make A Butter Pie Crust

Combine the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and using a cheese grater, grate your cold butter onto your dry ingredients.

Add cold milk and combine to form a rough dough. You can use a stand mixer but I prefer to mix by hand. Something about touching the dough lets you know when it is ready to be rolled out into a delicious buttery crust.

Once you have a slightly smooth dough, divide into two and roll into crust size rounds.

Set one aside and on a lightly floured surface roll out your bottom crust.

Thickly coat your pie pan in butter prior to laying in your crust. This will keep your crust from sticking to the pan and add to the flavor of the dish. The key to any butter pie crust is BUTTER BUTTER BUTTER!

Smooth and pat your bottom crust into the shape of the pan. At this point you can add finger ridges. I like to have my bottom crust lay over the rim to create a thick edge.

Roll out the remaining crust, and once you have added either the sweet or savory contents, cover your pie with the top crust.

Trim your edges and create designs to your hearts desire. Lattice, basket weave or leaves. The options are endless and nothing is off limits!

Now this step is only necessary if you are creating a dessert. Using approximately a tablespoon of milk, brush the top of your pie and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake your pie until golden brown. MMMMM Magnifique!

Check out my Oven Roasted Chicken recipe. The leftovers are delicious shredded for chicken pot pie!