Flaky Butter Crust     Crumb Crust

For the Flakey Butter Crust recipe you'll need:

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup cold water 

• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 

Dissolve the salt in the water and refrigerate. Remove chilled butter from the refrigerator when you're ready to use and not before. Don't let it set out and soften.  Spoon the flour into the measuring cup (so it doesn't pack down and you get the correct amount) and put it in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour either with a pastry cutter or a food processor (using the pulse speed in spurts). 

The butter will be a bit harder than shortening so this will take some work unless you have a food processor and instead of being in pea-sized balls like a shortening crust it will have more of a flaky consistency.  Slowly add the cold water/salt mixture tossing with a fork until the dough will form a ball. Divide the dough into 4 balls for 10" deep dish or (6 for 9" regular) pies. Wrap the balls in plastic wrap and chill again for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. 

Roll dough out to an even thickness about 2" bigger in diameter than the pie plate to allow for the sides and edging. Put the crust in the pan and press down into the sides well. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom and sides and form the edge design you like.

 Again, if you're making a single crust pie with a pre-baked shell it's a good idea to put a layer of waxed paper in the bottom and fill it with a couple of cups of dried beans or rice to keep the shell from shrinking.

Bake the shell about 20-25 minutes or until the edges and bottom are lightly browned. (After about 15 minutes when the shell has set you can remove the waxed paper and filler to let the bottom brown.) 

For a two-crust pie use the same way as you would a shortening based crust.

The easiest crust to make is a crumb crust. You can make crumb crusts from crushed graham crackers or cookies. The only difference is depending on the sweetness of the cookies you may need a little less sugar.

For a single graham cracker crust you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

• 1/3 cup white sugar 

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted 

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) 

It's very simple to make. Just mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and toss with a fork to mix evenly. Then pour the melted butter in while tossing with a fork until well blended. 

Press mixture into a pie plate and bake at 375°F for about 7 minutes. 

If your recipe calls for an unbaked graham cracker crust just chill it for about 30 minutes instead of baking it.

You can substitute virtually any cookie crumbs in place of the graham crackers. Shortbread cookies, vanilla wafers, ginger snaps all make fine crusts but feel free to experiment as the possibilities are endless.

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