Pie Crust #2 - with vodka

Yep.  Vodka is the secret ingredient in this pie crust.


I got this recipe from Cook's Illustrated, a kind of think-tank of cooks who try recipes - sometimes up to  70 times - until they arrive at the perfect, foolproof recipe.  For some reason, they decided that adding vodka would make the perfect pie crust. 

I'm no expert but possibly vodka, because it is 80-proof, will mostly evaporate in the oven. Your crust gets the liquid it needs during the prep but will evaporate in the oven.  Why not some other type of booze?  Well vodka is colourless and odourless.

I was surprised this worked, because it seemed like it would be over-processed. But it turned out to be delicious. (Don't use flavoured vodka, just a heads up.)

Pie Crust with Vodka

makes one 9-inch double-crust pie

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup  cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices 

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup cold vodka

1/4 cup cold water

Process 1-1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. 

Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). 


Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. 
Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. 


Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. 

Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. 

Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Rolling the dough out between two pieces of plastic is a great trick, as it keeps your counter clean and keeps you from having to flour and re-flour.

Fold the dough in half, and then in quarters so you can lift it and place it on the pie plate. Then reverse the process to "unfold" it in the plate.

Put in filling for a double crust pie.

Wet the edges of the pie crust with water, using your finger.  The water will help "glue" the top crust to the bottom crust.

Roll out the top crust in the same way and place on top of filling.

Using your fingers or a fork, crimp down the edges to seal the pie.

Trim the edges.  And make a few vent holes in the top crust with a knife. If you are artistic you can make it look pretty.  If you are me, heave a sigh of relief that it got this far and comfort yourself with the thought that even if it isn't pretty, it will be delicious.

Ready to go.  Pop it in the oven. 350º for 45 minutes to one hour.
To check if it's done, insert a knife into the centre of the pie.  If it goes in easily, the fruit is cooked.  If it isn't quite done but the edges are getting too dark, loosely cover the top with a piece of tin foil to sheild it.  Using a glass plate lets you check for done-ness on the bottom.


For how to bake a single pie crust, the instructions are in my traditional pie crust blog entry.