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    Home » Recipes » Baking Techniques

    Published on: August 3, 2022 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: October 28, 2024 Leave a Comment

    Pie Crust In A Food Processor

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    Butter and flour in a food processor bowl to make pie crust dough.

    Learn how to make an all-butter pie crust in a food processor with this easy recipe. This dough doesn't crack and rolls out beautifully for gorgeous pie crusts that hold their shape as they bake! This food processor crust is great for lattice work and cutout decorations on pies.

    Freshly baked blueberry pie.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    The holiday season is hectic, and you need a reliable pie crust recipe to get you through all the pie-making. This all-butter pie crust made in the food processor is exactly what you need!

    This is the pie crust I use to make this double-crust maple apple pie and this blueberry pie, among others. It's my go-to recipe!

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Substitutions And Variations
    • Using A Food Processor To Make Dough
    • Storage
    • Top Food Processor Pie Crust Tip
    • Food Processor Pie Crust FAQs
    • Pie Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    Ingredients

    You only need a few ingredients to make pie dough and you likely have them all in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need:

    Ingredients to make pie crust in a food processor, measured out and ready to be assembled to make the dough.
    • Flour—bleached all-purpose works great in doughs like this
    • Sugar—just a little sugar helps to bring out the flavours and also helps with browning
    • Salt—I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but if you'd like to use regular table salt, use half the amount, otherwise, the crust may be too salty
    • Butter, specifically unsalted butter, though salted will work too (adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly)
    • Cold water or even ice water ensures that the butter stays cold, making it easier to handle and creating a flaky crust that isn't overly greasy.

    Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

    Substitutions And Variations

    With only a handful of ingredients, your pie crust substitutions are limited:

    • Butter—you can replace the butter with leaf lard or shortening (like Crisco), but the texture and flavour will be different. You can also replace unsalted butter with salted butter, but to do so, you will have to reduce the salt in the recipe to compensate, or else the crust may be too salty.
    • Flour—you can use a mix of flours, like use part all-purpose and part whole wheat or rye, just don't replace 100 % of the flour with an alternative because the dough may be more difficult to work with and behave different, especially if the gluten is lower (or if there is none).
    • Water—some people will use cold vodka instead of the cold water or cold water with a splash of vinegar. Either way, the goal is to reduce gluten formation in the dough, but in my experience, gluten development isn't much of an issue with the food processor method.

    Once you know how to make pie dough, you can start to get creative:

    • Warm spices—add a little cinnamon and ginger to the flour before adding the butter (try 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1½ teaspoons ground ginger)
    • Cheese—some people like to add shredded cheddar cheese to the dough to make a cheese-flavoured pie crust, especially for apple pie.

    As always, if you decide to try a substitution, take note of what you did, your experience, and the results so that you can learn and make modifications next time. I cannot guarantee that changes or substitutions will lead to the same results.

    Using A Food Processor To Make Dough

    The beauty of using a food processor to make pie crust is that the machine can cut the fat (in this case, butter) into the flour without the butter warming up (like it would if you did this step with your hands).

    A food processor with a metal "S" blade, which will be used to make pie crust.

    You don't need many tools to make pie. For this recipe, you will use the regular food processor blade (sometimes called an "s-blade" because of its shape). This recipe fits a standard 11-cup (or larger) food processor. I use a Cuisinart food processor, but I've also successfully used a KitchenAid food processor.

    Note: This recipe will not fit a smaller or mini food processor (also called a mini food chopper). These smaller appliances only have a 3.5-cup capacity, which is too small for the ingredient quantities in this recipe.

    Chopping cold butter into pieces to soften it faster for baking.

    Step 1: Cut the cold butter into small cubes and set it in the fridge to keep it cold.

    Dry ingredients in food processor bowl to make pie crust dough.

    Step 2: Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. You can use the pulse setting to evenly mix them together.

    Cubes of cold butter over dry ingredients in food processor to make pie crust.

    Step 3: Add the cold cubed butter to the food processor bowl with the dry ingredients.

    Coarse crumbly mixture of flour, salt, and butter in food processor, ready for water to bind the dough together to make pie crust.

    Step 4: Pulse the butter into the dry ingredients to form an uneven, coarse crumble. You will notice some slightly bigger pieces of butter (like a chickpea or large bean size) and smaller pieces.

    Adding water to food processor to make pie dough.

    Step 5: Add the cold water to the food processor.

    Hint: Use the pulse setting to incorporate the water into the dough. The dough should clump together and the flour should look moistened, with very few dry bits left.

    Pie dough made in food processor, ready to shape and chill before using.

    Step 6: Mix the ingredients to form a shaggy dough. When you incorporate the butter, the goal is to cut it into the flour so that the butter is coated in flour but also so that much of the flour is coated in fat. This reduces gluten formation in the next steps.

    Shaping pie dough into a disk to chill in fridge before rolling and baking pie.

    Step 7: Use your hands to shape the dough into a flat disk. Shape the dough into a round flat disk if you are making a round pie in a pie plate or galette on a half sheet pan. Shape it into a square or rectangular shape if you are making a square or rectangular pie or galette (like if you are making pie on a quarter sheet pan)

    A disk of homemade pie dough that was made in the food processor.

    If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

    Pie dough and a French rolling pin on a floured surface, ready to be rolled out into a round, thin sheet to make a pie crust.

    Roll out pie dough on a floured surface to prevent it from sticking, using a rolling pin, like a French rolling pin with tapered edges.

    Pie dough rolled out into a round, thin sheet to make a pie crust.

    Make sure to roll the dough to a thin, even layer, rolling out the dough from the middle of the disk to the edges. Continuously slide the dough around to make it even and also to verify it's not sticking. Use more flour as needed.

    Lining a pie plate with pie dough, unfolding the dough across the surface of the plate.

    Storage

    I always divide double-crust recipes into two disks of dough to store wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week (7 days).

    For longer storage, you must freeze the dough. To freeze disks of pie dough, wrap them twice in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer bag with the air removed. I store several disks in a large bag and pull out one or two as needed.

    To defrost pie dough, leave it in the refrigerator overnight to slowly thaw before using. Do not defrost on the counter as it may sweat, and the outside may soften and warm up too much before the inside has a chance to defrost, leading to trouble when you have to roll it out.

    Par-baked pie crust ready to be filled with a pumpkin custard to make pumpkin pie.

    Top Food Processor Pie Crust Tip

    For a flaky dough, work the butter into the flour less so that there are bigger pieces that will make distinct layers when rolled. Use a stand mixer to make your pie crust if you want to achieve a flakier texture.
    For a mealy dough that holds lattice work and cut shapes well, work the butter into the flour more so that the pieces of butter are smaller for a more sandy texture.

    Food Processor Pie Crust FAQs

    Is it better to make pie crust in a food processor or by hand?

    You can make pie crust in a food processor, in a stand mixer, or by hand. The beauty of using a small appliance like a food processor is that the butter stays cold longer, and therefore, you will likely end up with a flakier, less greasy crust. By hand, the butter may warm too much, and this means the crust may even leak butter as it bakes if you don't chill it long enough before putting your pie in the oven.

    What attachment do you use to make pastry in a food processor?

    To make pastry in a food processor, you use the regular S-shaped food processor blade (that is sharp and made of metal).

    What food processor is best for pie dough?

    You can use any food processor to make pie dough but pay attention to the size and capacity of the machine. A smaller mini food processor can't hold this quantity of flour and butter. Use a larger 11-cup machine to be sure to have room for the dough to move around in the bowl.

    Can I use a food processor instead of a pastry cutter?

    A food processor is a great alternative to a pastry cutter and the blade of the machine will mimic the cutting action of a hand-held pastry cutter. Both will keep the butter cold for longer than by hand.

    Pie Recipes

    Once you've mastered pie crust, it's time to make a pie! Here are some pie recipes to bake:

    • Sweet potato pie topped with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.
      Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie
    • Working butter into flour with fingertips.
      Perfect Pie Crust by Hand
    • A perfect slice of rhubarb pie, ready to be served.
      How To Make a Lattice Pie Crust
    • A slice of quiche with rainbow Swiss chard in it, served with a small bowl of salt on the side.
      Deep Dish Quiche with Swiss Chard

    You can make single-crust pies:

    • apple galette
    • maple syrup pie
    • pumpkin pie without evaporated milk

    Or try your hand at double-crust pies:

    • Rhubarb pie
    • Blueberry pie
    • Maple apple pie
    • Peach mango pie

    Don't forget to save your pie scraps to make pie crust cookies sprinkled with cinnamon sugar!

    If you tried this recipe for the food processor pie crust (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

    📖 Recipe

    Transferring pie dough to a pie plate to make a pie crust.

    Easy All-Butter Pie Crust Made In A Food Processor

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    Learn how to make pie crust in a food processor with this easy recipe. This makes enough dough for a double crust pie. It rolls out beautifully, without cracking, and holds its shape in the oven.
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Chill time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 45 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American, British
    Servings 12
    Calories 202 kcal

    Equipment

    • OXO kitchen scale
    • Food processor
    • Metal pie plate
    • Pastry cutter
    Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 312 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 15 mL granulated sugar
    • 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 173 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes, very cold
    • 100 mL water cold

    Instructions
     

    • In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse to form a coarse crumble.
      Add the water and pulse it in, then let the food processor run just until the dough comes together. I bought my Cuisinart Food Processor on Amazon.
    • Divide the dough in two and transfer both pieces to your work surface. Shape each piece into a disk. Wrap both in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling out on a floured surface with a rolling pin.

    Video

    Notes

    • This recipe makes a double-crust pie. You can halve this recipe to make a single-crust pie, or use half now and freeze the other half for later, wrapped tightly in 2 layers of plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag with the air removed.
    • If the dough gets too warm at any point, put it in the fridge.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 202kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 196mgPotassium: 31mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 360IUCalcium: 7mgIron: 1mg
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, buy me a pound of butter to say thanks!

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