Flaky Butter & Vodka Pie Crust (No Shortening)

Butter and vodka are the secret ingredients to a pie crust that is flaky, tender, and great tasting! With this easy-to-make Butter and Vodka Pie Crust, you will have better-than-bakery pies every time!

Why You Will Love This Pie Crust

• Tender and flaky pie crust - Little pockets of butter are wrapped in flour, creating layers of dough that are flaky and tender.
• Works for sweet or savory pies - Whether you are making a Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Pie or a savory pot pie or quiche, this is the pie crust that you can rely on to be perfect every time.
• No soggy bottom crust - When your pie crust has too much liquid in it the crust can end up soggy. Vodka evaporates faster than water which means you will never have a soggy crust!

Ingredients

Flour - All-purpose flour is best for pie crust. When measuring your flour it is important to either weigh it with a scale or measure by spooning the flour lightly into a measuring cup. Never scoop the flour from the bag with your measuring cup or you will end up with too much flour.

Butter - Some pie dough recipes call for vegetable shortening, which they say is important for a flaky crust. But using only butter has a better flavor, so instead of relying on shortening for flakiness, we utilize technique. The steps for this pie dough result in super flaky, flavorful, all-butter pie crust.

Water - All of your ingredients, including the water, should be cold For best results, add ice cubes to a cup of water while you prepare the flour and butter, then measure out ¼ cup of the chilled water right before adding it to the dough.

Vodka - This is the secret ingredient that adds hydration to the dough without activating the gluten formation. The result is tender, never tough, pie crust.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Pulse half of the flour with the salt and sugar in a food processor.
2. Add the butter and pulse 15 times to turn it into cottage cheese looking crumbs.
3. Add the remaining flour and pulse the food processor again about 5-6 times, until the flour is mixed in. Adding the flour in 2 stages helps reduce the gluten formation and avoid overworking the dough.

4) Transfer the to bowl and sprinkle chilled vodka and ice-cold water over the flour mixture.

5) Press the liquid into the dough. Smash the dough, scoop under the dough and fold it over the top, and smash it some more, until it looks like the photo below on the right.

6. Divide the dough into 2 portions and shape each into a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Tips for Rolling the Dough

• Roll the dough on a well-floured surface. I like to flour parchment paper, roll it on the paper, and then use that paper to transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough disk with flour as well. You can also add a sheet of parchment to the top of your dough, rolling the dough out between the two sheets, to avoid the dough sticking to your roller.
• Roll it ⅛-inch thick. This should be about 12-inches in diameter.
• Transfer the dough to your plate and fold the excess under to create your crust edge.
• Trim off any excess dough then crimp the edges using your favorite style.
• You can also cut the dough into strips for a lattice crust, like in my Cherry Rhubarb Pie recipe.

How to Par-Bake Your Crust

Par-baking is also called blind-baking. It is the process of partially baking a pie crust. I almost always par-bake my crust. I just love the results!

1. Prick holes in the bottoms and sides of your pie crust.
2. Cut out a parchment paper circle and gently press it it on top of the dough.
3. Fill the parchment-lined crust with pie weights or dry beans.
4. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then remove the pie from the oven and remove the parchment and pie weights. (I pinch the edges of the parchment together to make an little cup, then remove the pie weights to a bowl. Be careful as they will be hot!
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until the bottom crust looks dry and baked, but not yet browning.
6. To fully cook your crust, bake 15 minutes once the pie weights are removed.

Expert Tips

• Keep your ingredients cold. This is the most important step in creating the best pie crust! From the moment you mix your flour to the time you put the pie into the oven you need to have one question on your mind - are my ingredients cold? Some people even put their bowl and flour into the freezer!
• Freeze the dough - Along the lines of keeping your ingredients cold, put your pie crust into the freezer for 10 minutes after you have prepared it in the pie plate. This will help keep the sides from slipping as the butter won't melt until the flour has started to bake. If you don't have room in your freezer then you can place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes instead.
• Do not overwork the dough. Handle the dough as little as possible. This starts with step 1 where the salt and sugar and mixed with the flour. Use the pulse feature on your food processor rather than mixing at full power, so that you have control over exactly how much is mixed. The more you work the dough the more gluten is formed, which is the number one reason for a pie failure.
• Get my top tips in this Vodka Pie Crust Web Story!

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