Pie dough and I have historically not gotten along. I’ve talked about it before in some detail, but the gist is that I find it finicky and intimidating. I tend to use store-bought pie dough because it does all the hard work for me. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking I’d like to have a go-to recipe that I can turn to when I have time to make dough from scratch.
I’ve come across this no-fail sour cream pie crust a few times, and it got me wondering: How no-fail are we talking here? With Thanksgiving around the corner and pie dough on everyone’s mind, I wanted to put it to the test and see how foolproof it really is.
Credit: Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Why Pie Dough Can Be Tricky
Small changes in moisture—and even how the butter is worked into the flour—can affect how pie dough handles and bakes. Most recipes call for adding water a little at a time, and the amount you need can vary from batch to batch for science-y reasons I won’t get into here. If you’d like to learn more, I highly suggest checking out this article.
The variability is one reason I’ve been hesitant to make pie dough from scratch (the other is rolling it out). Too little water can leave the dough dry and crumbly, making it difficult to roll out. Too much can make it easier to handle but leave the crust leathery and tough. We’re talking tablespoons here, so there isn’t much room for error.
Credit: Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
What Makes This Pie Dough So Easy
This recipe sidesteps some of the guesswork by replacing water with sour cream. It provides moisture and fat that helps make the dough tender and easier to work with. It’s also more forgiving than a traditional all-butter crust, so there’s less anxiety about overworking it.
The dough is simple to pull together and doesn’t require any special equipment—I used a fork and my hands. It has a Play-Doh-like consistency, which makes it easy to bring together into a disc and roll out.
I’ll admit, I still have a teeny bit of trouble rolling it into a circle—that’s more of a me problem than a dough problem. This recipe may be foolproof, but it’s not quite me-proof. Luckily, the dough is truly forgiving, and even my rustic-looking crusts turn out beautifully.
As easy as the crust is to make, what really won me over was its taste and texture. This is definitely a low-effort, high-reward recipe: The crust bakes up tender, flaky, and crisp, while the sour cream’s tang cuts through the richness of the butter for a lighter-tasting crust. In short, it’s absolutely scrumptious. I’m officially trading in premade crusts and making this my go-to pie dough. It’s pie dough with training wheels—and I’m here for it.
Get Recipe: No Fail, Sour Cream Pie Crust
Read the original article on Simply Recipes