Butter Pie Crust – Double Pie Crust Recipe

This Butter Pie Crust – Double Pie Crust Recipe was used for Buko Pie/Filipino Coconut Dessert Pie. I wanted to make a pie crust similar to the ones used for original Buko Pies. However,  the recipes I found made use of both margarine and shortening, two ingredients that I don’t have in my pantry. So I wondered, what’s the best fat ingredient to use for pie crusts anyway? 

Butter, Margarine, or Shortening?

The answer to the question above depends on one’s preference.  Butter has the best flavor while margarine and shortening creates a flakier crust due to its higher melting point.

Let’s oversimplify:

In a nutshell, the fat (butter, margarine, or shortening) should always be cold and solid but still pliable.  During the baking process, the fat will create steam within the crust that pushes layers up, this effect creates flaky layers. If the fat melts and combines with the flour before baking, the crust becomes dense and less flaky.

Here’s a helpful article: The Science of How to Make a Pie Crust

There’s also several discussions in baking forums on the use of a stand mixer, food processor, or kneading the pie crust by hand. Which one is best? – insert shrug emoji here – with the number of mixed opinions about technique, I say it depends.

I personally prefer using the food processor since my belief is the quicker I work with cold butter/cold pie dough, the better it will be. 

Before getting into the What’s and How’s of a Butter Pie Crust Recipe, I’d like to mention a beautiful cookbook that a friend gave me.  It’s called The Farm Cooking School – Techniques and Recipes that Celebrate the Seasons. 

The section on Pies with a “Pies and Pastry 101” is great for  beginners or for those wanting to refresh their pie skills. Since I wanted this  Butter Pie Crust Recipe to have the similar texture and bite that Filipino Coconut Dessert Pies or Buko Pies have, I cut the amount of butter and readjusted the amount of flour and water.  Buko Pies sold in the Philippines have a thinner flaky crust with a very slight chewy bite. 

The Farm Cooking School cookbook  tagline “Celebrate the Seasons” pulls on my heartstrings a bit.  Summer is nearly ending and brings to mind childhood memories in the Philippines.  Back then, I never thought that recalling moments of waiting in a hot car in tropical heat, fanning myself with a grass pamaypay (fan made of woven grass) that did nothing but circulate humid air around, and waiting for my mom  who was standing in line to purchase boxes of “The Original Buko Pie” in Los Banos would be something I would look back on fondly.

We all know that weird power that food memories have on all of us because a meal, a snack, or slices of pie are usually shared with those we love. 

What do you need for a Butter Pie Crust Recipe Double Pie Crust Recipe? 

• food processor
• fork
• 1 to 2 pastry/bench scrapers
• a floured surface for kneading pie dough
• kitchen scale (optional)
• plastic wrap
• rolling pin

This butter pie crust recipe makes 2 pie crusts for 9 inch pie pans.

Ingredients for the Butter pie crust:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter (large diced and frozen)
• 10-12 tablespoons ice cold water

How do you make a Butter Pie Crust – Double Pie Crust?

• Measure the butter before freezing, there’s a line on the butter’s wrapper indicating 1/3 cup.  
• I prefer using the food processor to cut the fat/butter into the flour.
• Also remember, the less contact or heat from the hands, allows the pie dough to remain cold during the whole process.

Instructions:

• Place flour in food processor, follow with the frozen diced butter
• Pulse the processor about 3-5 or until butter pieces are cut into the size of large peas 
• Don’t over process, the butter pieces won’t all be the same shape
• Transfer dough into a bowl, add about 7-8 tablespoons of ice cold water and mix with a fork
• Squeeze a handful of dough, and if it crumbles, add water a tablespoon at a time, mixing with a fork 
• Dough is done when handful of dough is squeezed and sticks cleanly together
• Transfer pie dough into a floured surface, and use bench scraper to gather dough, knead/flatten pie dough using heel of hand, and fold back into the rest of the dough with scraper
• Repeat process evenly about 4-5 times, pie dough should form a ball
• Divide pie dough into 2 equal parts, form the parts into 2 discs for easy rolling later
• Wrap discs with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1-2 hours or overnight or freeze if not using within 24 hours
• Roll flat and place dough in pie tin
• if baking pie crust without filling (to store for future use), dock the pie or pierce the bottom with a fork
• If baking right away with filling, do not pierce the bottom of the pie crust