Mary Beth’s Reliable Pie Crust

Here’s my friend Mary Beth’s always reliable pie crust recipe. I think the egg and vinegar make it very easy to roll out and very forgiving for beginning pie makers. Bonus…if you’re in a hurry, it doesn’t have to be chilled before you roll it out! But you will find it a bit easier if you do chill it for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

While Mary Beth’s recipe calls for 1 cup (16 Tablespoons – 2 sticks) of butter, I usually cut back to 14 Tablespoons, so the butter doesn’t bubble over and make a big mess in my oven!


Ingredients

  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1/4 Teaspoon salt
  • 1 Cup cold butter (2 sticks, see Note above)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Teaspoon white distilled vinegar
  • cold water

Instructions

  1. Add flour and salt to bowl of food processor. Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour mixture. Pulse 10 times.
  2. Break egg into a one cup measuring cup. Add vinegar. Add water to equal 1/2 cup total. Mix with a fork. Pour water mixture into flour and pulse until it forms into a dough ball, usually no more than 30 pulses.
  3. Divide dough into two balls. Wrap and chill for about 20-30 minutes. (This can really be rolled out right away, but it is a bit easier to handle chilled.) Use both balls if making a double crust pie, or reserve one of the balls for later use, or freeze, if making a single crust pie.