Two-Ingredient Pie Dough

Nothing says summer’s here quite like a homemade fruit pie. Tangy blackberries, tart cherries, and luscious peaches are all in season and make incredibly easy fillings. It’s always a good idea to have some dough tucked away for a quick fruit pie. It’s a wonderful addition to a brunch or impromptu get-together. Drop it on the table and watch it get gobbled up. #Trust.

If you’re intimidated by making your own dough, don’t be. It’s not as tricky a process as some would have you believe. My recipe calls for just two ingredients and a touch of water. The key step is to make sure all the ingredients are frozen, which will deliver a flaky, tender crust you’ll want to eat over and over again stuffed with whatever summer fruit you have on hand.

Use the refrigerated dough within three days. You can store the dough in the freezer for up to 3 months, as long as you cover the discs tightly in plastic wrap and seal them in a freezer bag. You can make the dough vegan by substituting the butter for frozen vegetable shortening and adding 1 teaspoon sea salt to the mixture. You can also use your favorite vegan butter, vegan ghee, or even vegan cream cheese. 

Ingredients

Directions

Step 1

Using the grating blade of a food processor (or a hand grater and a whole lot of elbow grease) grate the frozen butter into the flour. 

Step 2

Add 4 tablespoons of ice water to the flour and frozen butter in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture starts to resemble cornmeal. If you don’t have a food processor, use two knives or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into smaller chunks as you mix in the water.

Step 3

Pinch a clump of the mixture together. If it crumbles add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a dough when pinched.

Step 4

Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough to that surface. Press the dough into a ball and then separate in half.

Shape into 2 discs about 6 inches wide, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.