The Ingredient Duo Ree Drummond Uses To Make The Perfect Pie Crust

While you can certainly make the most of store-bought pie crust, nothing compares to the flaky and tender qualities of homemade pastry. Luckily, if you're in need of a solid pie crust recipe, Food Network star Ree Drummond has one recipe you can undoubtedly trust. The Oklahoma-based, ranch-focused chef has developed a longstanding reputation for creating and sharing recipes that are not only accessible, but also reliable, delicious, and family-friendly.

When it comes to crafting the perfect pie crust, Drummond relies on the intrinsic combination of two distinct ingredients to achieve the perfect texture: butter and shortening. Essentially, you need both to produce a crust that's tender, delicious, and perfectly-shaped. 

Specifically, butter gives pie crust a grounded, savory flavor, yet also enhances the overall texture of your dough. Since butter contains water, once incorporated into pie dough and baked, this residual water eventually becomes steam and creates undeniably soft and flaky layers of pastry. On the other hand, vegetable shortening is a hydrogenated fat made from vegetable oil. This type of fat has a higher melting point than butter, which means it's easier to manipulate, roll out, and form into a pie pan. Shortening also works to maintain the pristine shape of your crust throughout baking. According to Drummond, when you use shortening and butter together, you get the best of both worlds. You're left with a perfectly flavorful yet tender crust that can be used in more ways than one.  

Now that you know the importance of having a decent ratio of butter to shortening in your pie crust, use this recipe for all your favorite fillings. Thanks to the shortening especially, this crust recipe holds up well when par-baked, so use it for special custard-based pies like buttermilk or pecan. Alternatively, this recipe can also serve as the base for Drummond's version of shoofly pie, which contains a molasses-based filling paired with a cinnamon-spiced crumble topping.

In addition to using this recipe for all your favorite fruit pies, get creative and implement the genius way Ree Drummond utilizes Mason jar lids. Sure enough, the savvy Pioneer Woman uses the lids as mini pastry cutters to create individual desserts. This one-of-a-kind pastry recipe should be quite pliable and easy to cut to your preferred size and shape prior to baking.

Even though Drummond's perfect pie crust has many uses, you may want to consider using a different recipe for pies that require more structure. For example, if you happen to be making a pie with special cut out pastry shapes lining the crust such as seasonal flowers or leaves, you may have better results using Drummond's alternative recipe which calls for 100% shortening. Not to mention, particular to this recipe, something amazing happens when you add vinegar to pie crust. The texture becomes incredibly flaky and practically melts in your mouth.