The Case for an All-Butter Pie Crust
The eternal pie debate comes down to fat. Shortening is forgiving and produces a sturdy, tender crust, but it brings no flavor of its own. Butter delivers richness and flaky layers, at the cost of a dough that demands respect for temperature.
The secret to butter crust is cold, cold, cold. Freeze the butter, use ice water, and stop mixing while the dough still looks shaggy with visible flecks of butter. Those flecks steam in the oven and push the layers apart into flake.
Rest the dough in the fridge before rolling and again before baking. A warm crust slumps and shrinks; a cold one holds its crimp and bakes up crisp. Treat the butter gently and it rewards you with the best crust you have ever made.