Until I got a food processor, I was staunchly of the belief that making pie crust from scratch was simply not worth the effort.  Store-bought pie crust produces consistent results, and doesn’t require the nerve-wracking process of cutting frozen butter into flour by hand.

I still use store-bought crust from time to time, but there is one major advantage to making your own crust: you can alter the flavor to complement whatever you are filling it with.  For this crust, I have added rosemary, sage, and parsley to enhance my mini quiches, but you can swap those out with any other flavors you choose.

I found this recipe in Pies, Pies & More Pies! and have been quite happy with the results.  The sweet crust recipe from the same book is also excellent (I’ll write about that in the future).

You will need the following ingredients:

• 10 Tbsp. (1 1/4 stick) butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley, minced
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. cold cream or milk

Start out by cutting your butter into 1/2″ cubes.  Put your butter cubes in a resealable plastic bag and freeze it for at least half an hour.  If you are planning on making a lot of pies, you can cut your butter in advance and save it in pre-portioned baggies in the freezer for when you’re ready to use it.

Once your butter is sufficiently frozen, combine the flour, salt, and herbs (or your seasoning of choice) in a food processor or stand mixer.  If you don’t have either of those, you can still do this, but it will be much more difficult.  Pulse the dry ingredients together to mix them.

Add the frozen butter.  Pulse the ingredients until they are the consistency of coarse sand.

Add the egg and milk or cream.  Pulse the mixture until the dough begins to hold together.  It should still look crumbly.

Scrape the dough out of the food processor onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disc (if you are making a two-crust pie, form it into two separate discs).  Wrap the dough disc and refrigerate for at least an hour or freeze up to two months.

When you are ready to use the dough, roll it on a lightly floured surface and fit it to the baking dish of your choice.

Do you have a go-to savory pie or tart?  Share in the comments!