Shortcut Pie Crust

By Clare de Boer

Shortcut Pie Crust
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus at least 3½ hours’ chilling (or freezing)
Rating
4(495)
Comments
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This recipe and method make a distinctly tender, crisp crust. Unlike rolling, which can toughen pastry by developing the gluten in the dough, grating breaks — or shortens — the protein chains, which leads to extra tenderness. Pressing the grated pastry directly into the pie plate makes patisserie-thin crusts achievable, without much practice. It’s key to thoroughly chill the dough before grating and to pull it up higher than the rim of the dish to allow for shrinkage. Swap this recipe in as the base of any sweet pie, adjusting the thickness accordingly. Deeper pies made in dishes without removable bases benefit from slightly thicker crusts, whereas fluted tart crusts are best whisper thin. Make double the dough and freeze half, so you have an excuse to make pie another day.

Featured in: The Shortcut to Crisp, Tender Pie Crust

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Ingredients

Yield:One 8- to 11-inch pie or tart crust
  • 1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
  • ½cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar, passed through a sieve
  • ¼teaspoon kosher salt
  • 9tablespoons/130 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 2large egg yolks
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

246 calories; 15 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 63 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cubed butter and blitz until the flour mixture has a sandy texture with some pea-size butter bits.

  2. Step 2

    Add the egg yolks and blitz then pulse just until the pastry begins to come together.

  3. Step 3

    Tip the pastry out onto a rectangle of plastic wrap. Using your hands, form it into a 6-inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. If using frozen dough, allow to soften slightly in the fridge for an hour before using.

  4. Step 4

    Using the large holes on a box grater, grate ¾ of the chilled pastry directly into your pie dish or tart pan. Working quickly by hand, press the grated pastry into the dish, starting with the sides then covering the bottom, grating more of the chilled pastry into the dish as needed to cover evenly. Pay attention to the seam between the sides and the base, making sure it is the same thickness as the rest of the pastry: The crust should form an even layer that is about ¼-inch thick. (Save any leftover pastry for another use.) Chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)

  5. Step 5

    The crust can take various routes from here; refer to whichever pie or tart recipe you're using for guidance. If blind-baking this crust, it cooks best at 350 degrees.

Tip
  • If you have extra dough, you can make thumbprint pies from them: Butter a muffin tin. Pull off ball-size pieces of chilled leftover pastry and press into buttered tin, making a well in the center. Fill with jam or jelly, leaving a little room to top with cream later. Bake at 350 degrees until dough is cooked, 30 to 40 minutes. Top with whipped or plain heavy cream and eat in one bite.

Ratings

4 out of 5
495 user ratings
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Comments

Janet

Can one use the grating disk on a food processor to avoid warming the dough as it's being hand-grated? Or would the action of the processor just make a mess of the dough log??

speacock23

There are a number of "revolutionary" new pastry methods, such as this one and America's Test Kitchen's vodka pastry. They all work, but what all of them have in common is a much higher fat content. Traditional pie crust was 2:1 flour to fat (by weight) and no eggs. I suspect the extra fat is the real reason for the tender but flaky results.

lilbev

This would be a great recipe to have one of Melissa Clark's wonderful short videos showing the exact method from size of the pulsed crumbs to the way the shreds are pressed into the pan.

Alice F

My trick with this (or any) pie crust: use higher butterfat European-style butter like Pulgra or Kerrygold. American butter has to have at least 80% butterfat, while European butter is usually between 82–85%. That extra 2%-5% makes a difference!

max w

I just pressed a crumbly dough into the dish with a spoon, it worked pretty well and the spoon didn’t warm up the dough like hands would.

AC

OMG this is the most successful tart shell recipe I have ever used. Freezing and grating here is THE TRICK, do not skip. For that buttery, short texture grating is essential because it breaks the gluten bonds (which impart chewiness, density). Don't over think it, use the food processor, freeze, grate, and press into your pan.

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