Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned last year Erik and I put ourselves in charge of the pies for my family's Thanksgiving dinner.

The first year Erik tried out several different pie crust recipes to ensure we had the best ones.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I thought I would share our tried and true recipes.

Butter Crust

The first one is a Butter Crust that Erik found online several years ago.

It is SO delicious and turns out nice and flaky.
We use this recipe for our Pumpkin and Chocolate Pies but it is a basic crust that would work with pretty much anything.

I am not sure of the original source since Erik discovered the recipe but if you are, please let me know!

You will need:

2 and 1/2 cups of Flour

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Tablespoon of Sugar

1 Cup of Unsalted Butter, Cold

6 to 8 Tablespoons of Ice Water

Add 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor.

Pulse until combined.

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to the flour mixture.

Pulse until a dough begins to form.

Add the remaining cup of flour and pulse until the dough begins to crumble.

Transfer dough to a medium sized bowl and sprinkle in 6 tablespoons of ice water.

Fold the water into the mixture until a dough starts to form.

Add in the remaining tablespoons of ice water if needed.

Split dough evenly in half and shape into two discs.

Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes.

Roll one disc out on a clean floured surface into a 12 inch circle.

Transfer dough to a 9 inch pie dish and gently press over the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
Cut off excess dough.
Crimp edges of the pie if desired.
Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes before baking.


If baking with no filling pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork.
Line the crust with a sheet of aluminum foil pushing the foil gently against the crust.
Fill foil with dried beans or dried rice to help the pie keep its shape.
Bake at 400o for 20 - 30 minutes.
Allow crust to cool before filling.
If baking with filling bake as filling recipe directs.
Repeat steps with the second disc of dough or use it for decorating like we do.

Graham Cracker Crust

The second crust is a Graham Cracker Crust.

We use this for our Banana Cream Pie but it would be delicious with other types of pies as well, like this Pumpkin Pie we did our test run with.

At first we purchased pre-made crusts from the store but Graham Cracker Crusts are so quick and effortless to make we started making them at home. 

You will need:

10 - 12 Graham Crackers

1/3 a Cup of Sugar

8 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter, Melted

Break down the graham crackers and place into a food processor.

Pulse until they are finely ground crumbs.

You will need 1 and 1/2 cups of crumbs but I'll be honest I use all 12 graham crackers and don't bother measuring.

The more the merrier if you ask me... 

Add the melted butter and sugar to the crumbs in the food processor and pulse until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 inch pie dish.

Press the mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the dish.

A graham cracker crust can be baked but it is not necessary.

Since we use ours for Banana Cream Pie we choose not to bake it.

After the crust is formed we let it chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before adding our filling.

If you would like to bake your crust do so at 375o for 7-9 minutes or as the filling recipe directs.

These pie crusts are so delicious we think they are definitely worth the time to make them from scratch.
I love our Thanksgiving tradition of baking pies.

Nothing says the holidays to me like a house filled with the smell of baked goods.
What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions?

All my love,
Autumn