Easy No-Roll Pie Crust
Written by joythebaker on October 2, 2009 – 2:55 am -
Friends.
This is important.
I need you to hold your pinky up for me. We’re about to make a very important promise to one another.
I need you to promise me that you’ll never. ever.. ever… ever buy a store-bought pre-made pie crust again. Don’t do it. Promise me.
Those store bought pie crusts are full of all sorts of mystery fats, trans fats, dirty fats, mean fats… you don’t want all that mess in your pie!
Besides… I’ve come up with the pie crust recipe of your dreams. Seriously. Fluff the ingredients in a bowl, throw in some moisture, then press the dough directly into your pie pan. No chilling. No rolling. No stress. I’m looking out for you.
If you’re scared of pie, I’ve got you’re back…. promise… lemme show you.
The problem that I have with most No-Roll Pie Crust recipes on the Internet is that all of them simply use oil as the fat. Where’s the butter? Let’s not shun butter just because we’re not rolling the pie dough out! Butter is an important part of pie dough. It lends a little lift and loads of flavor.
My No-Roll Pie Crust recipe is a brilliant compromise. I mixed cold butter with vegetable (I used almond) oil, and the secret ingredient: a touch of cream cheese for binding and creamy flavor. The result is a crust somewhere in between a pie crust and a tart shell. It’s slightly sweet, browns beautifully, has a lovely hint of butter and a crisp texture from the oil. This dough is perfect for a custard pie or a pumpkin pie.
To pre-bake the pie crust for a chocolate cream or banana cream pie, line the chilled pie crust with foil, weigh down with beans and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes covered. Remove the foil and beans and bake for 4-6 minutes uncovered until golden brown.
If you don’t need to pre-bake the shell, chill the pie crust in the pie plate in the freezer while you make the pie filling. Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce? Yum. Pumpkin Pie!? Heck yes! Coming soon!
Remember… this is only a bottom crust recipe. A top crust would involve some rolling, which would involve a different recipe. We’re keeping it simple.
What’s in my quick pie crust today!? A Good Old Fashioned Sugar Pie.
Easy No-Roll Pie Crust
makes 1 9-inch pie crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoon) frozen butter that has been grated on a cheese grater
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used almond oil)
1 Tablespoon cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons cold milk
In a medium sized bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Whisk together.
Add frozen butter that has been grated on a cheese grater and tablespoon of cream cheese. With your fingers, work the cream cheese and butter into the flour mixture, breaking the butter and cream cheese up until they’re in well incorporated into the flour. Some butter bits will be tiny, other the size of small peddles. The dough may even begin to some together in a rough, sandy kind of way.
Combine the milk and oil. Whisk together. Add all at once to the flour and butter mixture. With a fork, begin to combine the ingredients, making sure that all of the flour mixture is introduced to the liquid. The mixture does not need to come together into a ball. Leave it a bit shaggy and dump the dough into a clean 9-inch pie plate. With your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Try to get the dough as even as possible, but don’t worry too much about finger indentations. You can’t fight that.
Place the prepared crust in the freezer while you preheat the oven and prepare your filling. If you’re going to pre-bake your crust, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the chilled pie crust with foil, weigh down with beans and bake for 10 minutes covered. Remove the foil and beans and bake for 4-6 minutes uncovered until golden brown.
If you need an unbaked pie crust, simply remove the crust from the freezer once your filling is made, fill your pie and place in a preheated oven. Bake according to your particular recipe.
Good Old Fashioned Sugar Pie
from Sweets
makes 1 9-inch pie
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 cups evaporated milk
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, combine the granulated and brown sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, slat and nutmeg. Mix well. Add the eggs and yolk and combine well with a whisk. Gradually stir in the milk until well blended.
Turn the flame onto medium heat and cook ingredients, stirring constantly until the filling is thick and bubbly. This took me about 7 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack until ready to serve. I like this pie best cold from the fridge.
Tags: easy pie crust, holiday baking, pie crust, pie dough
Posted in In the Kitchen, Pie, Recipes, Tips and Tricks | 146 Comments »
Thank you!!!! I too had always caved and used store bought pie crust; I just have never been good at making my own…until now. Tried this yesterday with my 4 yr old son (who loves to bake!) and it was perfect! He loved mixing it with his hands and pressing it into the pie plate. This is perfect for doing with kids–he was so proud of himself…I was pretty proud too. Tasted awesome. Buttery and sweet–perfect with our (lactose-free) pumpkin pie. Thanks again!!!
JOY !
I took this recipe to Italy with me (along with pecans) and made this pie crust.
THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !THANK YOU !
I will never buy pre-made frozen again.
I will never ROLL again !
What a wonderful gift you have given to everyone.
Now onward to that Sweet Potatoe Pie !
I forgot to see if they have sweet pots in Italy
Ruby
Can I just say how wonderful and easy this recipe was? And what a delicious, crumbly crust it made for my pumpkin pie! Store-bought shells no more! I used a cinnamon sugar mixture instead of plain sugar, giving it an extra spiciness. My dad’s already asking if I can make it when I go home for Thanksgiving – and he hasn’t even tried it yet
Thanks, Joy!
i don’t own a pie plate because i never wanted to try making pie from scratch until now. is there a diff between glass & ceramic? any recommendations? my grannie used to use the Pyrex glass ones. boy, miss her meat pies…
WOW! A NO ROLL pie crust? Count me in!!!
OOooohhhh….awesome! easy and fun! Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this pie crust recipe! I have very little counter space in my tiny New York City kitchen and no rolling pin (*gasp*), so this is perfect for me. Now, all I need is a pie plate and I’m good to start baking pies for the holidays!
[...] joy the baker. i will try your easy no roll pie crust, but if i learn to bake pies, i might never eat anything [...]
[...] 9-inch pie crust, raw (see below for joy’s no-roll pie crust that I used, or you can use any recipe that you are comfortable [...]
[...] always make homemade pie crusts when baking pies, and I’m intrigued by this No Roll Pie Crust recipe from Joy the Baker. It looks yummy, and I love how easy it looks to make. I’m going to try it [...]
No roll makes me super happy! As does how easy this looks. Thank you for sharing. Holiday pies, here I come!
[...] No-Roll Pie Crust thanks to Joy the Baker makes 1 9-inch pie crust 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons sugar 1/8 [...]
[...] Raise your hand if you’re afraid of pie crust. I’ve got both of my hands raised high above my head, and I am waving frantically. The fear stops here! There is no need with this EASY NO ROLL PIE CRUST from Joy the Baker. [...]
Made your no-roll pie crust for pumpkin pie the other day. It works great! Perfect gateway dough for people who are scared to make traditional pie dough. Thank you for sharing!
[...] This pie can be made with my Easy No-Roll Pie Crust. You win. I win. Pillsbury pre-made pie crust loses. It’s better this way. Trust [...]
This is the first time I’ve made a yummy crust. Thanks so much posting such a great recipe – I’m no longer terrified of crust!
THANK YOU! I made my first pumpkin pie from scratch yesterday and used this pie crust – it came out perfect! I wanted to make my own pie crust, but all the recipes I found had shortening (ewww). What’s the point in making your own if it’s going to be full of junk anyway? I’m always on your site drooling, but I’ve yet to use one of your recipes until now. You rock Joy!
[...] crust is Joy the Baker’s Easy No-Roll Pie Crust. Delicious, quick, [...]
amazing!!! thanks for posting this recipe!!! now quiches are easier than ever thanks to you.
I made this pie crust today on a whim for a dinner of beef pot pie with loads of fresh vegetables and a new favourite merlot. I cut the sugar down a bit and added caraway seeds, pepper and thyme to the crust dough. Unfortunately it’s not really a meal that I can eat right now, but there were rave reviews around the table for the flavour overall and texture of the crust.
One possible caveat, and this could be entirely down to user error (I have worked in a bakery, but I think I’ve made pie crust 2 times before in my life), is that the crust wasn’t quite up to the task of holding together under a high pile of hot stew. Perhaps I didn’t pat it down firmly enough when I was pre-baking and it just baked too light, or perhaps this recipe is best suited for set custard type pies, where the filling adds some structure and cohesion between the filling and crust.
At any rate, I’ve copied this recipe down into my little pink book of elite recipes, and I cant wait till christmas when I commit to never buying pie crusts again, and make my original recipe for sweet potato pie and taste it against yours in a head to head battle!
cheerio!
wow – I must delurk to say thank you! this crust was amazing, and perfect for my 1st stab at homemade pumpkin pie. I will only be making topless-crust pies from now on!
You know what else works if you don’t like to use the rolling pin? you can whip up a batch of pastry, freeze it, and when you want to use it, grate it, from frozen into the dish and shape with your fingers like the one above – also works a treat.
joy the baker, you’re the freaking man. BOX GRATING FROZEN BUTTER?! thank you for being awesome.
you rock. pie gods are happy in pie heaven. this is serious humanitarian work. joy joy joy!
[...] No Roll Pie Crust I invented… it’s dang [...]
Where do you find almond oil in large quantities. I live in Michigan on the upper west side of the state. I am 63 and love to bake, make cookies, cupcakes and pies to supplement my SS. This no roll crust will be helpful. Have a Blessed week . Enjoy your site.
How do u like Sweets? It’s been on my Amazon wishlist for quite sometime, and I’m looking for a sign that I need it now! lol
Hi Joy
Your website really is a complete joy to go through. I love how passionate you are about cooking. It really is inspirational. Plus I love how committed and confident you are about your recipes. For me, that is really important when I am looking for recipes online. I am definitely going to try out many of your recipes.
One question about this no-roll pie crust: What can I use as a substitute for the small amount of cream cheese? Thing is, in India cream cheese, believe it or not, is hard to come by, and also prohibitively expensive (because it is imported). Ridiculous, I know. So, what can I use as a substitute?