Aunt Elsie’s Flaky Pie Crust is super flaky and tender.  The secret to flaky pie crust is cold shortening, resting the dough, and not overworking it.  Follow my tips for a perfect pie crust!!

Okay, let me tell ya one of my favorite things to talk about besides pie itself…..pie crust.  I’ve played with pie dough since I was a little girl helping my mother, and I’ve made a lot of different kinds of pie crusts, but I will have to say that I keep going back to my favorite recipe when it comes to a flaky pie crust….the one my Aunt Elsie gave to me many years ago.  Aunt Elsie used to bring fresh blackberry and raspberry pies to our family reunions with the flakiest thinly rolled pie crust.  I’m not sure what I loved the most, the crust or her wonderful pie filling.  Needless to say, I pestered her for the recipe and she so sweetly obliged.  No offense to my own mother’s pie crust that I grew up eating and loving…my mother always made a thicker and more sturdy type of pie crust.

I sometimes make this crust and add some fresh herbs, if I’m making something such as a Chicken Pot Pie.  Now don’t get me wrong….there are lots of different kinds of pie crusts out there, and in my opinion, different pie crusts go with different pie fillings.  We’ll have that discussion a little later.  Anyhow, when I’m looking for a thin flaky pie crust, Aunt Elsie’s pie crust is my all-time go-to.

Why use vegetable shortening in your pie crust?  Vegetable shortening is 100% fat.  This means there’s very little water in it, resulting in less shrinkage and a flakier pie crust.  The more dough shrinks, the less flaky it is.

Pie crust is not hard to make.  The secret to flaky pie crust is in the mixing, chilling, and resting…

TIPS FOR PERFECT PIE CRUST

  • Make sure your shortening is very cold.  I keep mine in the refrigerator.
  • Use a pastry blender or two forks and cut the dough into tiny pea-size pieces.  You want the shortening evenly distributed throughout the pie crust.
  • Use very cold ice water.  I put an ice cube in a glass of cold water from my refrigerator dispenser.  The colder, the better!
  • Don’t overwork the dough.  Seriously, once you add the water, the dough should come together within seconds.  Then dump it onto a lightly floured surface.  The dough might be slightly wet, but you don’t need extra flour just yet.
  • Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes once you’ve dumped it onto a floured surface.
  • Form the dough into a ball, using lightly floured hands, then cut it in half.  Form each half into a round disc.  Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Remove only 1 disc of dough at a time from the refrigerator when you’re ready to roll it out.
  • Don’t stretch the dough.  Roll it as thin as you need to, but NEVER stretch it.  Stretching will cause the dough to shrink once it’s in the oven.

Check out these helpful posts,

How to Blind Bake (Par Bake) Pie Crust

Pie Washes

This recipe was updated on 6/27/21.  I added measurements for a deep-dish pie crust.

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Aunt Elsie’s Flaky Pie Crust

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs @ My Country Table
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 double crust pie shell 1x
  • Category: Pies
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This pie crust recipe has NEVER let me down.  It’s made with solid Crisco shortening and is super flaky.

Ingredients

Units Scale

REGULAR PIE CRUST

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting the work surface.
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Crisco solid shortening, very cold. I keep mine in the refrigerator.
  • 6 to 7 tablespoons of ice water

DEEP DISH PIE CRUST

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting the work surface
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Crisco solid shortening, very cold. I keep mine in the refrigerator.
  • 7 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

  1. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix together. Add the Crisco shortening and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender or fork, until it’s the size of peas.
  2. Add the ice water and mix only until the water is incorporated into the flour and you can form the dough into a disc. Do not overwork the dough, or it will result in a tough pie crust.
  3. Place 1/2 of the dough at a time onto a lightly floured work surface. Form it into a disc and slightly flatten it with your hand. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
  4. Roll the dough out very thin on a piece of floured wax paper or a floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a circle that is big enough to fit across the bottom, up the sides and at least one inch over the edges of your pie dish. Place the dough in a pie dish. Flute or crimp the edges as desired. Bake as directed on your pie recipe.

HOW TO PRE-BAKE/PAR-BAKE AN EMPTY PIE SHELL

If you are baking an empty pie shell for a cream or refrigerator pie, follow these steps…

Roll out pie dough and transfer to a pie dish.  Trim edges and crimp or flute as desired.  Place the pie shell in a refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Meantime, preheat an oven to 425 degrees.  Once the pie shell is chilled, prick the bottom and sides of the pie shell with a fork.  This is called docking the pie shell.  This keeps the pie shell from puffing up in the oven.  Place a piece of foil or crumpled up parchment paper in the bottom and up the sides of the pie shell.  Fill the shell with dried beans or ceramic pie weights.  Place the pie shell on the bottom rack of the preheated oven.  Immediately turn oven temperature down to 400 degrees.  Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to take on a golden hue, about 10 minutes.  Remove the pie shell from the oven and remove the pie weights and foil or parchment paper.  Return the pie shell to the oven and bake until the bottom of the pie shell has turned a golden brown.  This will take about 20 more minutes.  Allow the pie shell to cool before filling.

Notes

  • The shallow pie crust recipe is enough for two shallow 9″ pie shells or one deep dish 9″ pie shell, with some extra dough left over.  I use about 2/3 of the dough for a deep dish pie.