How To Make Pie Crust In A Stand Mixer

Why You Should Make Pie Crust In A Stand Mixer

Yes, you can make a buttery, flaky pie crust in a stand mixer!

Most pie recipes instruct you to make the dough for its crust in a handful of ways. Some will instruct you to make it by hand (either with tools like a pastry cutter, or without them), or to use a food processor.

I never, ever recommend making pie dough by hand. It’s too messy and time-consuming! And while using a food processor is faster, it’s easy to overwork the butter and end up with a flat, dense, crust.

So what do I do?

It takes less than 5 minutes to come together and eliminates TONS of mess and work. Furthermore, unlike a food processor, a stand mixer allows you more control and visibility as the dough comes together—no flat, dense crusts!

The pie dough below recipe is from my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. I now use it exclusively for all the pie recipes on Hummingbird High!

@hummingbirdhigh the easiest way to make #pie dough, i promise! #bakingtiktok #bakinghacks ♬ Happy Pizza – Tom Howe

How To Make Pie Crust In A Stand Mixer

Now that I’ve convinced you to make pie crust in a stand mixer, let’s talk about the basic steps to make it from scratch:

1. Prep the ingredients for the pie dough. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)

It’s important to pay attention to the temperatures of the ingredients listed in the recipe! If you make pie dough with butter or water that’s too warm, the dough will be too sticky and hard to work with.

In this case, that means slicing the cold butter and freezing it for 5 minutes while you work with the rest of the ingredients. Mix the water, vinegar, and ice mixture and keep it refrigerated while you measure out the dry ingredients.

2. Make the pie dough. (Work Time: 10 minutes)

Because of my stand mixer technique, this pie dough comes together in less than 10 minutes!

To make it, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter all at once and beat on low until the mixture has the texture of a coarse meal for about 3 minutes. Finally, add 6 Tablespoons of water from the water-vinegar-ice mixture and beat until the dough clumps around the paddle.

That’s it! Easy, right?

3. Chill the pie dough. (Chill Time: 1+ hours)

Divide the dough into two even halves, forming them into a flat disc. One of these discs will be for the bottom crust, while the second will be for the top crust of your pie. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and flatten into a small disc.

The dough needs to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before you use it in the pie recipe of your choice. However, at this point, the dough can actually be frozen for up to 3 months. Just make sure to store it properly to prevent it from absorbing weird odors and flavors in the freezer—learn more in the Troubleshooting and FAQ section below.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s everything you need to make pie crust in a stand mixer:

Shopping List For Stand Mixer Pie Crust Recipe

• apple cider vinegar
• ice
• unsalted butter
• all-purpose flour
• granulated sugar
• kosher salt

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and their potential substitutions:

• Apple Cider Vinegar: If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use a neutral tasting vinegar like distilled white vinegar in its place. However, apple cider vinegar adds a unique flavor to the crust that works well with most fruits!
  
  
• Unsalted Butter: You can also use salted butter in its place—there’s no need to adjust the kosher salt in the recipe, either. Technically, vegan stick butter like Earth Balance or Miyoko’s baking sticks COULD work in this recipe. However, vegan butter melts faster than traditional butter, so work quickly!
  
  
• Granulated Sugar: In a pinch, you can other sugars like brown or coconut sugar in this recipe. Just be sure to use a sugar that has a fine grain. Avoid coarse sugars like Demerara, raw, and/or sanding sugar. If you’re making a savory filling, you can also omit the granulated sugar completely.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Can you use a handheld electric mixer to make this pie crust?

Sadly, no. A hand held electric mixer won’t work for this recipe. Its beaters aren’t strong or fast enough to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients quickly. Everything gets too melty and you’ll end up with a dense, flat pie dough.

Can you halve the recipe to make just 1 disc of pie dough?

Yes! That’s what I did in this chocolate chess pie recipe (which only needs a bottom crust).

To do so, simply divide the recipe ingredients in half and follow the instructions. Just note that the original recipe instructs you to add 6 Tablespoons of the ice water mixture to the dry ingredients. So when halving the recipe, you’ll only need to add 3 Tablespoons. However, I usually find that 4 Tablespoons of ice water brings the dough together better than 3 Tablespoons.

Pie Recipes To Make With Stand Mixer Pie Crust

Now that I’ve taught you how to make pie crust in a stand mixer, here are some recipes you can use for its filling:

• Black Bottom Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Blueberry Crumble Pie
• Chocolate Chess Pie
• Easy Canned Cherry Pie Recipe
• Rhubarb Custard Pie