Flaky pie crust that is consistently delicious and cooperative. No more praying to the pie gods or wondering why pie crust has to be so difficult—this is honestly the go-to crust that won’t fail you and, more importantly, won’t frustrate you.

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Confession: I’m mad at pie right now.

Not a specific type of pie. Not a particular pie I made. I’m just plain mad at the baking genre of pie.

I’ve spent years trying to perfect pie crust. What I really want is a very good, very reliable, no-fuss pie crust that also uses ingredients I can feel good about. Good in terms of being natural and also fancy. What can I say, I’m human. Sometimes it comes out perfectly. Sometimes it falls into the pie pan while baking.

Usually, it turns out perfectly when it’s just for my family or a very small gathering.

And usually, it collapses on itself when I’m making it for a holiday or other large gathering. And especially so if I’m trying to get a good photo of it.

So in my “year of pie” I decided to start at the beginning, with the first crust recipe I ever made—the one I always used until I tried to branch out and try new things that resulted in fierce anger at the world of pie. Sorry, I forgot to breathe for a second while thinking about all my recent pie fails... So, yes, this is a classic pie crust recipe your grandma may have used. It works. It’s reliable. It really is foolproof.

Why this works

So many components go into pie crust. Type of fat(s). Ratio of fat to flour to liquid. Method of blending. Additional mix-ins. Seriously, the combinations are endless.

One reason this recipe works is because it uses two types of fat: butter and vegetable shortening. While I don’t love the idea of using shortening, there isn’t much in here, and it’s not like I’m eating a whole pie by myself every day. The two fats have different melting points, which helps create a flakier crust.

The second reason this recipe works is the method of combining the fats. First, you coat the flour in the shortening until it’s sandy then toss it with long, thin squares of frozen butter. Coating the flour first helps prevent gluten from forming—which prevents a shrinking or chewy crust. But everyone knows you need those long bits of butter for a flakey crust. Freezing the butter helps it retain its shape as you mix everything, leading to that flakey crust.

Finally, freezing the crust before baking ensures that your pie doesn’t lose its shape and that the butter doesn’t melt too quickly in the oven.

Bonus, it’s easy! You can just use a pastry blender to get the shortening to a sandy texture (although a food processor or your hands would work). Then you use a vegetable peeler to create thin pieces of butter that freeze then toss in with the flour. Finally, you just stir in the water, so there’s no risk of over-mixing!

Together, this all creates a sturdy crust that still has those gorgeous flakes and that delicious texture.

How to make foolproof classic pie crust

First, mix your dry ingredients.

Blend in cold shortening with the flour until sandy.

Add frozen butter peeled into thin squares and strips with a vegetable peeler and toss to combine.

Gently stir in cold water.

Form into a disc, wrap, and chill.

Roll out.

Line your pie pan.

Shape your edges.

Freeze, line with foil, fill with rice or pie weights, then blind bake. (If not pre- or par-baking, fill with pie filling, freeze, then bake).

Easy peasy.

Tips and notes for this recipe

Weigh your flour or gently spoon then level

This is the tip I wish I’d known a long time ago. Weigh your flour! If you just dig into the flour with a measuring cup, you will end up with too much—because you packed it in. One of the first ways to alleviate pie frustration is to ensure you have the right amount of flour, so it’s important to either weigh it or gently spoon it into the measuring cup then level it off with a knife.

Peel chilled butter

The whole idea of peeling butter is weird, I know. But I’ve learned the hard way that it’s easier to peel the butter if it’s cold but not frozen. It also helps to take more butter than you need, make a notch with a knife at your “stopping” point, then peel to there. That way, you have extra butter to hold onto as you peel and don’t nick your fingers.

Peel butter from the end

Again, this is a very weird term. But bear with me! I’ve tried this a few ways and trust me—peeling from the end instead of trying to get strips along the length of the butter is best. You’ll end up with super thin squares as well as some thin strips (because this isn’t a perfect science and your peeler won’t just make perfectly even squares every time). When you toss those with the flour then stir in the water, some of the squares will break up into smaller bits, which is perfect. You want some variety to the sizes of butter pieces.

Double for lattice or double crust

This is pretty obvious. I used to do a 1 1/2 recipe for lattice, but I’ve found it’s just plain easier to double a recipe for a lattice and have a little extra. For a lattice crust, you’ll want to cut 1” strips and weave it then crimp the edges with the bottom crust and shape. For a double crust, gently place it over your slightly mounded filling, crimp the edges with the bottom crust and shape. Cut at least four concentric slits in the crust. For both options, brush with an egg wash of 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of milk (or just brush it with milk—my favorite). Optionally, you can sprinkle with sugar.

Optional variations:

While this is perfection on its own, I have a few variations that I love.

Lemon: add 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest with the flour

Cinnamon brown sugar: substitute brown sugar for sugar and add 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon with the flour; also consider sprinkling a cinnamon sugar mixture over the egg wash

Savory: omit the sugar and add 1 tablespoon chopped thyme/rosemary

You might also like:

All Butter Pie Crust

Coconut Oil Pie Crust

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Galette Crust

Lemon Thyme Shortcrust

Graham Cracker Crust