Shortcut Pie Crust Recipe (2024)

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??

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.

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.

Bring back lard -- known by our great-grandmothers (circa 1910) to provide the flakiest and most-flavor filled crust (non-meat eaters look away). In my family we would often steal each others crust before consuming the innardsbe they pumpkin/apple/cherry or pecan.

Pie Crust for Dummies (old issue of Saveur): break one egg into measuring cup, and 1 tbsp white vinegar and enough water to reach one cup. In large bowl, six cups of flour, 1 lb lard (I use vegetable lard) 1 tsp salt. Mix with hands, then add egg/vinegar/water mix. continue mixing by hand. Rough ball. Divide by six. Pat into nice round flat disks - refrigerate one hour then use or freeze. Perfect every time, crisp, crumbly, crunchy, light. and I have kept them frozen for six months.

If ever a recipe wanted a video, it's this one.

Try grating the butter into the flour mixture and mixing with your hands to distribute.

How do you form the upper crust for fruit pies?

This recipe is featured not because it's easier, though some of us are challenged by rolling out a pie crust, but because it makes a superior crust. As Claire de Boer writes in the features article, "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."

This does indeed produce a tender crust for one crust pies and tarts. However, the art of pie baking is not confined to one method. A well made rolled crust can be just as much of a joy. complete with a seasonal fruit filling bubbling from the steam vents. I grew up with crusts made from lard, flour and salt. They never failed to be a hit! A true pie expert will master all kinds of pastry crusts, not just one.

Has anyone adapted this method for crust for savory filling?

High hopes/low results. A very crumbly dough going into the fridge, and Thanksgiving morning it didn't grate, it crumbled. Too late to start over, so pressed crumbs/occasional gratings into place, taking care (so I thought) to keep it nicely evenly thin. Baked it lightly brown for a pumpkin chiffon pie. As I guessed at rather than saw the thickness as with rolling, it rather spoiled the dessert in the end: doughy, uncooked and way too thick in spots. I'm going back to rolling.

How is it a shortcut if you have to wait 3 1/2 hours for it to chill? My mother taught me that shortening (or lard) is the guarantee of a tender crust. She was right! And mixing and rolling and getting it into the pan all take about 20 minutes.

I made this crust for a pear frangipane tart, by hand, not using the food processor. I live in a very dry climate, and had to add about 1 Tbs. of water to get the dough to come together. Shredding the dough and pressing it into the pan was easy enough, but I did not find this crust to be any tastier than my typical pat-in-the-pan sweet crust. It was good, but I don't think it'll go into my regular rotation.

But you can't make pie with a top crust this way.

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.

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.

The dough as written was a sandy mess. And went everywhere. In-N-Out it back in the food processor and added 2 tbs of (I thought rice vinegar-but turned out to be mirin) held slightly together so we shall see how it comes out. (And tastes!-stay tuned)

Sometimes I think recipes just try to make things harder. I blended the dough in the food processor until it totally came together (read that in another recipe) then patted it into the tart pan. I moistened my fingers to keep the dough from sticking. Froze it for a few hours but could have just chilled it. Much easier than the directions!

It worked great to use the grating disk on the food processor instead of separately using a standing grater. It didn't get too warm.

I did everything by the book—and there is no way that this crust would hold together. I had to add an egg yolk and 1.5 tsp cold water for it to even start to adhere. What did I do wrong? Wish me luck when I attempt to grate it tomorrow….

I don't need my pie crust to be sweet. Would this technique work with a traditional crust recipe?

One half cup sugar??? Why use sugar when the filling has it. Completely unnecessary.

This produces a perfectly good crust, but frankly it’s a lot more work than just rolling out the dough, and for me it’s not worth it. Thank dog I have a crank grater or I’d be even more cranky!

For a first try, this went pretty well. I made two shells for pecan pie. That said, I needed more instructions re blind baking. With practice, this might become my go-to pie crust!

I did a trial run with this technique and failed the first time because i pressed it to thinly which became obvious upon baking. I did it again and it took less time than the first, and used it for a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I used my other standard recipe which I rolled - I can roll a crust in a heartbeat-for an apple pie and I will say the grated one was slightly more tender. I am a big fan of an egg yolk in piecrust for workability.

I make my own leaf lard from local artisan-raised pigs and prefer to add it to my pie crust. If I go 50/50 with butter and lard, can I still use this method? Thank you for the suggestions. I HATE rolling dough and am open to trying a new method.

I never actually "cooked" this, I tried mixing the dough and after adding 3 Tbsp of ice water it still seemed dry as dust to me and wouldn't hold together when I squeezed some in my fist. I live in Minnesota, so not an abnormally dry climate. Maybe it's all the sugar? I've never seen such a high sugar content in any of the other pie crust recipes I've tried.

Multiple steps, grating dough, chilling for hours....I wouldn’t call this NYT recipe easy. It’s not difficult but time consuming. King Arthur has a good recipe online for an oil crust. While not flaky, it is beautifully tender and VERY easy. You can roll out a top crust between parchment paper or silicone sheets, but it is easier to make a crumble topping with this type crust.

Grating the pie dough was easy but I'm not sure it's any easier than rolling out a "regular" pie dough. It's difficult to grate it into the right position in the pan, but grating it first onto wax paper and pouring it didn't work very easily either. The resulting crust was indeed tender and flaky. It was too flaky to use for decorating the top of the pie and the resulting shapes tended not to hold their shapes very well. In short, appropriate in certain pie and tart circ*mstances but not all.