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This versatile All Butter Vodka Pie Dough recipe is superior in flavor & texture, baking up with a desirably buttery, tender, flaky crust.
Yes. Homemade pie dough can feel overwhelming and fickle. But, it doesn’t have to. This simple All Butter Vodka Pie Dough Recipe makes a reliable pie dough that tastes great and bakes up beautifully, every single time. Dare we call it, the perfect pie dough? I sure do love it!
My All Butter Vodka Pie Dough indeed uses all butter. No shortening here. And, there is also some vodka mixed into the dough. Both ingredients play into the texture and flavor of the buttery baked pie crust. If you aren’t into the idea of vodka, apple cider vinegar is a great stand-in. Try my Basic All Butter Pie Dough, it uses all of the same principles without the alcohol.
Jump to:
- Butter tastes best
- Why vodka in pie crust?
- Secrets ingredients for tender, flaky pie crust
- Techniques for perfect pie dough
- Tools for making the best pie dough
- Additional methods and tools for making pie dough
- Practice makes perfect pie dough
Butter tastes best
It’s really up to you on the type of fat you use in your pie dough. Shortening may be a bit easier to work with when making pie dough from scratch. But, once you have an understanding of technique, butter will be your best bud. Plus, butter tastes so much better. For me, taste trumps looks any day of the week.
The best pie dough recipe should be simple. We are all after that tender, flaky pie crust with no soggy bottom problems. A good pie dough recipe is all about quality ingredients and smart pie baking techniques.
Why vodka in pie crust?
Vodka
Vodka is the secret to crisp and flaky pie dough. Vodka evaporates more quickly than water during the baking process. This removes moisture from the crust quickly, creating flakiness. The result is an even, crispy pie crust. Think of it like a flaky and buttery croissant. Don’t worry, the alcohol completely bakes away, too. You won’t notice any vodka flavor.
*Pro Tip: Vodka won’t freeze, so store your vodka in the freezer so it is ready and ice cold when you need it for pie dough or co*cktails!
Secrets ingredients for tender, flaky pie crust
Real Butter
Especially something with a higher fat content like a European style butter, gives the pie dough superior flavor and an ultra flaky crumble when baked. Plus, the more fat in the butter, the better it is going to hold its structure in the oven. Higher butter fat = prettier pies. Unsalted is best, that way you as a baker can control the salt levels in your pie dough.
All Purpose Flour
Basic APF is all you need here. It’s the binder that provides structure and holds all of the ingredients together. I personally prefer Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour but you can use any you prefer.
Granulated Sugar
Sugar gently sweetens the pie dough, leveling out that buttery flavor with a hint of sweetness. It helps hold structure integrity too! If making a savory pie, you can omit the sugar. Or use just a scant teaspoon instead.
Salt
Salt also enhances the buttery flavor and allows the mild sweetness to come through in a balanced flavor combo. This All Butter Pie Dough recipe uses a pretty hefty amount of salt. I find it gives the pie crust a lot of character. If it feels like too much, cut down the amount. I always use fine sea salt but you can substitute simple table salt or kosher salt if you prefer.
Techniques for perfect pie dough
Keep it cool
By keeping the butter and vodka ice cold, you are ensuring a more tender pie dough. This allows the ingredients to mix up rustically, preventing over-mixing.
Don’t overwork it
Only mix the pie dough until it just starts to come together in crumbly, pea sized granules. If you completely mix the butter into the flour, you end up creating a hom*ogeneous pie dough that falls flat. You want some texture in there, creating air pockets that puff up and expand in the heat. This makes for lots of flakes and a crisp outer pie crust.
Give it a squeeze
Once mixed together, the all butter pie dough should look mealy with pea-sized clumps of butter. Not smooth and even. It’s ok to have some dry bits of flour, they will be absorbed when you form the dough disks. The dough should just come together when you grab a fistful and gently squeeze it together. This is how you know it’s properly mixed!
Gather & Pat
No need to knead pie dough. When shaping the dough into disks, you just want to gather and at the pie dough together. If you knead the dough, it'll become overworked and bake up leathery instead of tender and flaky.
Give the pie dough time to age and develop
Once you’ve mixed the All Butter Vodka Pie Dough together, it needs some time on its own. By allowing the pie dough to rest in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours, it will develop more character. The dough will also be easier to work with once it’s had time to hang for a bit.
- Bench Scraper - helps for cutting or dividing the dough. And makes clean up a cinch!
- Pastry blender - use it to cut the butter into the flour, quickly and efficiently.
- Fork - a great tool during the last step of mixing the vodka into the dough.
- Rolling pin - a heavy, duty rolling pin helps roll out the All Butter Vodka Pie Dough into a nice, even sheet.
Additional methods and tools for making pie dough
- Box Grater - instead of cutting butter cubes into the dry ingredients, try grating the butter with a box grater. This is an efficient and approachable method for mixing pie dough.
- Food processor - for quick and efficient pie dough mixing, blend the ingredients together in a food processor. Starting with the dry ingredients and cold, cubed butter. Then slowly pour in the vodka, while gently pulsing. Careful not to over-mix the dough.
- Two butter knives - if you don’t have a pastry blender or food processor, using 2 butter knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients works like a champ! It just might take a little longer.
- Hands - and if you are really in a pinch. Just pinch that butter into the dry ingredients by hand. Heat is your enemy so work fast. And if your hands run hot, run them under some cold water first!
All Butter Vodka Pie Dough can be used for traditional single or double crust pies, hand pies & galettes
Whatever your pie dough needs, this versatile All Butter Pie Crust is there for you. This foolproof pie crust recipe makes 1 double crust pie, 2 single crust pies, 2, 4, 6 or 8 galettes depending on the size or roughly 12-16 hand pies, depending on the size. Plus, the pie dough freezes very well. It will last at least a couple of months if wrapped up tightly in the freezer. So, you can make big batches of pie dough ahead of time and freeze it until you need it. Just give the pie dough about 90 minutes - 2 hours to defrost on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator.
Practice makes perfect pie dough
Pie crust can be tricky. If you add too much moisture you've got a sticky mess on your hands, literally. If you overwork the dough, you have a thick and chewy hom*ogenized crust with blah flavor and none of that flaky textured crust. It's a delicate process that takes some getting used to. But if you use my pie dough tips, techniques and tricks listed above, you’ll soon be baking perfect pies.
There you have it. The more pie you make, the more comfortable you will get with your dough. So, this is me personally endorsing you to bake a whole bunch of pies in the name of personal development. Just keep rolling and you'll get it! Plus, you get to eat all of the yummy rewards! This All Butter Vodka Pie Dough recipe is your new baking bestie.
All Butter Vodka Pie Dough Recipe
- Author: Baking The Goods
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 dough disks
Description
This versatile All Butter Vodka Pie Dough recipe is superior in flavor & texture, baking up with a buttery, tender, flaky crust. It can can be used for anything from traditional single or double crust pies to hand pies and galettes.
Ingredients
Units
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold & cut into ¼" cubes
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1.5 - 2 teaspoons fine sea salt salt
- ¼ cup ice cold vodka
- 2-4 tablespoons ice cold water
Instructions
- Cut the butter into ¼" cubes and place in the fridge to firm back up while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cut the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture either a pastry blender, by scissor cutting with two butter knives or even just by squishing it between your fingers, just be careful that the butter doesn't start to melt from the warmth of your hands. Keep blending until the dough becomes mealy and crumbly, forming pea-sized granules. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to mix the pie dough together. Begin by placing the flour mixture and cold, cubed butter in food processor. Gently pulse until the flour changes from silky to mealy; this should only take a handful of pulses so watch it carefully.
- Hydrate the dough by pouring in the ice cold vodka, 1 tablespoon at a time. Use a fork to mix the dough together. It should start to become shaggy and hydrated. Check the hydration level of the dough by gathering a small fistful; if it just holds together, it’s ready. If it is still dry or crumbly, slowly add the ice cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, blending with the fork until the dough is sufficiently hydrated. If using a food processor, while pulsing, gently pour the vodka through the feed tube and mix until just combined. Use the same squeeze test to check the hydration levels and adjust accordingly. Be careful to add only as much water as it takes for the dough to just hold together. The exact amount of water can vary depending upon the moisture content of the flour, the quality of the butter, and the weather. When it has the proper amount of water, the dough will come together without much effort or deliberate packing.
- Turn the crumbly dough out on a clean, lightly floured surface. Then use the gather and pat method to form the pie dough into a disk. Don't knead or overwork the dough. Just gather it together and pat it down gently, until it forms a disk.
- Cut the large disk evenly in half. Then gather and pat into 2 smaller disks. Wrap the dough disks tightly in plastic wrap or place in baggies.
- Chill the dough for at least 1-2 hours in the refrigerator before rolling and forming. If you don't plan on using the dough within a 12-24 hours, you can store the dough in the freezer. (If it sits in the refrigerator too long, it could start to turn a grayish color.)
- When ready to use, allow the dough to soften slightly on the counter before rolling. you should be able to easily make an indention when you press your thumb lightly in the top of the dough disk.
Notes
This All Butter Vodka Pie Dough is very versatile, it can be used for traditional single or double crust pies, hand pies or galettes. This recipe makes 1 double crust pie, 2 single crust pies, 2, 4, 6 or 8 galettes depending on the size or roughly 12-16 hand pies, depending on the size.
This pie dough will last at least a couple of months if wrapped up tightly in the freezer. Before using, defrost the frozen dough overnight in the fridge or on the counter 1.5 -2 hours.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 90-120 minutes
