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Once upon a time, when my kitchen was The Land of Made from Scratch Pies (aka, before dental school and Burke and Piper Jane), I made a mean pie crust. My pastry cutter was well-loved, I nearly had my favorite recipe memorized, and my pie crusts were flaky and buttery and glorious… ahhhhh (have I mentioned lately that I. love. pie?).
Fast forward a few years and made from scratch pie crusts (those kind at least) are a much rarer occasion. However, I have found a new go-to pie recipe. It’s simple, doesn’t make my kitchen into a big ol’ mess, and only costs fifty eight cents (yep, I did the math- 15 cents for the flour, 5 cents for the sugar, 2 cents for the milk, a third of a cent for the salt, 36 cents for the oil… sure beats the store bought variety!). While it’s not as delicious as my high-maintenance, pastry cutter version, it’s a great “it’ll-do-for-now” staple. Seriously. Try it.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups flour
2 T sugar
2 T milk
1 t salt
1/2 cup oil (any except olive oil)
Mix dry ingredients. Make them into a little volcano-esque hill, with a hole in the top.
Whisk the wet ingredients. Pour into the the dent in the top of the dry ingredient ‘hill.’
Mix just enough to moisten dough.
Press into place in pie pan.
Done! Use as base pie crust for your next pie. May I suggest this rhubarb-y, strawberry goodness?
this is almost exactly the same recipe i use for pie! my recipe makes a top and a bottom (or 2 bottoms for more pie!) it is a very delicious crust! in fact i made 2 peach pies yesterday 🙂
what change is recommended to make for the top pie crust?
I haven’t ever tried to make this kind of crust into a top pie crust… if you figure it out, will you let me know?
Thanks for sharing. I HAD to pin that so I could remember when pie season comes in (berry picking days and Fall holidays) =)
I will definitely be trying this soon! Thanks for sharing!
I will have to try this as I, too, and a lover of pie! And I never thought to mix it in the pie pan – what a genius idea!!
Looks delicious! I should not be reading this while hungry… 🙂
I've been looking for a cake pedestal like that for AGES! Where did you get yours?
@Marni Cochran
I love it too! I got it as a birthday gift last December- I think she got it at Crate and Barrel. 🙂
@Marni Cochran
I love it too! I got it as a birthday gift last December- I think she got it at Crate and Barrel. 🙂
Just curious, why not olive oil? Would the light-tasting kind work? I use it in everything: cakes, corn bread, etc… and it's all we keep on hand. Thanks.
Would you share your high-maintenance, pastry cutter version pie crust too. I love to bake and would love to try both of them. Thank you for sharing.
Would you share your high-maintenance, pastry cutter version pie crust too. I love to bake and would love to try both. Thank you for sharing.
I am definitely going to give this a shot! If it works well, I'll give it a little feature on my blog!
I'm definitely going to try this. With a recent layoff, we're tightening the budget big time, so this is perfect for us! If it works well, I'll give it a little feature on my blog!
I wonder if it would work with coconut oil? yummy.
xo jana
This is just ingenius! I had to pin this for my recipe book, and I just had to share! I found you through Money Saving Mom and I knew my readers would be excited to hear about you too! You have amazing things on your blog and I am happy to have found you!
http://tailsofanapronista.blogspot.com/2011/07/exciting-few-days.html
have an amazing day!
I love that you can mix it right in the pie pan, no extra messy bowls, no rolling pins, no cutting! I might make pie more often now!
Would this work with wheat flour too? That's all we ever use any more, and it's worked well for most stuff, but I have to confess that I've never made a pie crust from scratch. Maybe I'll try it…
I was in a pinch and used this for my quiche (well, the way I make it, it's really just an egg casserole :)) — do you think it would be OK to omit the sugar for a savory pie?
How long do u bake this crust and at what temp?
Hey Amanda- I should put this info on there. Bake for 10-12 min at 375 (or according to your pie recipe). 🙂
I might try my hand at making a pie crust.
Then I can cross it off my bucket list!
Should I use whole milk in the recipe?
Hey Rona- I have used everything from skim to whole milk- all work fine. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. It is my go to recipe. So easy. Tastes so good!!
Totally with you Courtney- your comment makes me want to make pie…