Foolproof Lemon Butter Pie Crust
Flakey, buttery pie crust that requires no special skills or equipment yet reliably turns out well each time. This is my favorite summer pie crust and goes so well with all of the in-season fruit!
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There’s something about summer that calls for fruity desserts. Don’t get me wrong, I love my chocolate and always will. But I have been loving all of the fruity desserts I’ve been able to make lately! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I got to take my daughter cherry picking then have her help me bake with the cherries we gathered. How adorable is that?
For this cherry pie, I was so excited to try out my (very summery) lemon butter pie crust. It uses a very similar method to my foolproof classic pie crust, but it’s an all-butter recipe. Plus it has lemon! Not a lot. Just a hint to bring out the tartness of the cherries.
This is probably my favorite pie crust to use with summer pies.
Plus, it really is as foolproof as pie crusts get. Uncomplicated, no special skills or machinery required, yet still yielding a workable, flakey crust each time. I always make a double batch and freeze one of the crusts for later. And you know what? I’ve had just as good of luck with the frozen crusts as when it was first made.
One of the reasons this recipe works is the two different methods of the butter. This is a growing trend these days, because you want some butter coating the flour (the sandy texture) but some butter staying in long, thin strips for flakes. Unless you’re professionally trained, it’s hard to know how to dump all of your butter in and end up with a bit of both textures. Instead, we use two different blending techniques to ensure the butter does both of its jobs.
How to make foolproof lemon butter pie crust
Peel or grate 4 tablespoons of your butter and freeze it.
Whisk your flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Try not to let it fly everywhere, but if you have a two year old, you know that’s not an option.
Cut in the other 6 tablespoons of butter until sandy (to coat the flour).
Toss in the frozen butter.
Toss in ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time.
Form into a disc (two if making a lattice or double crust), wrap, and chill.
Roll out.
Fit to pie pan and trim, leaving 1/2 inch extra overhang.
Either shape the edges then freeze, line, fill with weights, and pre-bake, or…
…fill with unbaked filling, top with lattice/double crust (optional), and freeze.
Bake (or pre-bake).
Let cool (then fill, if needed).
Enjoy!
Tips and notes for this recipe
Measure flour carefully
Why lie? I don’t always weigh my ingredients. But I’m starting to trend that way and have noticed a positive difference in my baking. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, just be sure you measure the flour by gently spooning it into the measuring cup then leveling it off quickly with the straight edge of a knife. I’ve tested it and tend to always get within a few grams of the expected weight each time.
Don’t overwork the dough
Don’t you hate when recipes say this? Mix until fully blended. Don’t over mix. But how do I know when it’s done? In addition to the two methods for mixing in the butter, another reason this recipe works so well is that you gently toss in the cold water (like tossing a salad, but with your hands). As you do this, you’ll start to notice that the dough can clump together when gently pressed. This means you’re done mixing.
Trim and shape the edges carefully.
First, leave that extra overhang! This is a BIG reason why my past pies have failed. I used to never leave enough crust on the edge to fold it over on itself. The result is a light, thin edge that gets pulled into the pie pan as it bakes. Second, be sure whatever shape you’re making (this is so NOT my skillset) is resting over that lip of the pie pan, not above the sloped side of the pie crust itself. It’ll just collapse on itself.
Don’t skip the chilling
Yes, pie crust is notoriously time consuming. But most of that time is spent waiting for a crust to chill or freeze. You let the discs chill before you roll them. You let the crust (or filled pie) freeze before baking/pre-baking it. And you must let the pie cool before serving. Trust me. This is more about the filling than the crust, but many pie troubles happen because a pie wasn’t cooled before cutting. The crust can turn chewy and the filling will almost always run right under the crust and turn it soggy. So trust me: let your pie cool before cutting and serving.
My pie making tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making pie crusts. Affiliate links provided.
Vegetable peeler or cheese grater
Pastry blender or food processor
Pie pan (Emile Henry has become my favorite!)
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Foolproof Lemon Butter Pie Crust
- prep time: 10-15 minutes
- bake time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (plus bake time, varies by recipe)
servings: 8-12 (for one 8”-10” pie--see note for a double or lattice crust)
Ingredients*:
- 1 ⅓ cups (181g) flour, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon (13g) sugar (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon (2) finely ground sea salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt)
- 1-2 tablespoons (6-12g) finely grated lemon zest
- 10 tablespoons (147g) unsalted European butter, chilled and divided
- 3-6 tablespoons (30-60g) iced water or vodka
Instructions:
- First, prep your butter. Dice 6 tablespoons of it and put in the fridge. With the other 4 tablespoons, you want to get long, thin strips one of two ways. You can use a vegetable peeler to shave super thin squares of the remaining butter from the end (not lengthwise) or a cheese grater to create shredded strips of butter. Spread these pieces on a cookie sheet and freeze at least 10 minutes.
- Blend your flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. If your sugar is raw or large-grain (such as organic sugar), you may want to pulse it a few times in a food processor.
- Add the chilled butter to the flour. Using a pastry blender (or your hands or a food processor), cut in the butter until it is a sandy texture. Note: if you used a food processor in this step, be sure to dump everything into a mixing bowl for the rest of the steps.
- Add in the frozen butter. Toss gently to coat. Break up any pieces that stuck together.
- Sprinkle water or vodka, one tablespoon at a time, over the dough. Gently stir in a tossing motion (avoid pressing the dough down too much), until blended after each addition. A lot of the butter will naturally break up as you do this, but if it’s staying in large squares or clumping, you’ll want to break those up as you go so you don’t have dozens of large pieces. Also, be sure to toss well before adding more water, so that you don’t add too much. Rarely do I need all 6 tablespoons (usually only if it’s really dry out).
- Once the dough can stick together when pressed against the side of the bowl (don’t wait for it to come together--check as you are tossing in the water), pour out onto a clean surface and gently shape into a 6” disc. Use the edge of your hand to get smooth sides. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days. (You can also freeze it up to 1-2 months, depending on your freezer.) *Note: if making a lattice or double crust, make two discs, one slightly larger than the other.
- When ready to use, lightly flour a clean work surface or rolling mat. Sprinkle a little more flour over the top. Begin rolling out the dough, rotating the rolling pin as you go. I like to imagine it’s a clock and I need to roll it over every hour—so top down is 12 and 6, left right is 3 and 9, etc. Roll it out to be about 3 inches bigger in diameter than your pie pan (e.g. 12” for a 9” pan).
- Be sure to flip and rotate the dough every so often, sprinkling a tiny bit more flour as needed to 1) keep it from sticking and 2) ensure you’re rolling evenly. I tend to roll the bottom left too thin and the top right too thick. Rotating balances this out.
- If any bits of the edge crack or break, gently press them back together with your hands. Roll about half of the crust onto the rolling pin then gently slide it over the pie pan until centered. Gently lift the edges of the crust and press it into the pan. You want about ½ inch of overhang, so trim anything beyond that. Tuck the overhang under so that the edge is flush with the pie pan. Shape the edges as desired.**
- Freeze crust (empty if pre-baking or filled if doing a classic pie) for 30 minutes.
- If pre-baking or par-baking the crust, line with a double layer of foil (criss cross each layer so there’s enough to cover all edges). Loosely fold it over the edge of the pan without sealing it in. Fill the pan with rice or beans or pie weights. Rice is my favorite. Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes at 400 (or as directed by your recipe). If par-baking, you can fill it at this point then finish baking. If fully pre-baking, remove the rice and foil and bake another 10-15 minutes, until the bottom begins to look golden. Let cool before filling, unless otherwise noted by your recipe.
- If baking with the filling (so not pre- or blind baking), bake at 400 on a foil lined baking sheet for 20 minutes then turn oven down to 375 until crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles (or as directed by your recipe). Let cool completely (usually 2-3 hours minimum) before cutting.
Enjoy!
*For a lattice or double crust, double the recipe.
**Note: if making a lattice or double crust, roll the smaller disc out to just slightly larger than the pie pan. For lattice, cut into 1” strips. Once the pie is filled, weave as desired then crimp the edges together with the bottom crust and shape the edges. For a double crust, gently place over slightly mounded filling, crimping with the bottom crust and shaping the edges. Cut at least 4 slits in a concentric pattern. For both options, brush with a wash of 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of milk or even just milk. Do this before freezing in the next step.