Brown Butter Pie Crust

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My irresistible Brown Butter Pie Crust gives both dessert pies and savory quiches and tarts a delicious upgrade! Browning the butter adds a rich, toasted, nutty flavor that turns familiar pastry into something extra special! It is just as easy to work with and as versatile as regular pie crust, with a deeper buttery flavor. 

• A simple change with big results: It’s amazing how just one ingredient can make such a difference. Using browned butter gives your sweet pies and savory pies deep, delectable flavor that crusts made with regular butter just don’t have.
• Deep flavor: Brown butter is a genius kitchen trick that adds a toasty, nutty, toffee-like flavor to every bite.
• Flaky texture: Chill the brown butter until solid, then cut it into the flour to create wonderfully tender pastry.
• Beautiful rustic look: The browned butter solids give the dough a naturally speckled appearance that adds a lovely touch to pies.
• Bakery upgrade for any pie. Keep the powdered sugar for sweet pies, or leave it out for savory pies or quiches.

When it comes to eating pies, some people are all about the filling, while others are definitely Team Crust, but my Brown Butter Pie Crust might just turn everyone into a crust person! It’s as tender and buttery as my Homemade Pie Crust, but browning the butter adds a wonderful deep toasty flavor that makes it hard to resist sneaking a little piece!

My most important tip for this recipe is to chill the butter until it’s completely solid. Once it’s firm, cut it in with a pastry blender or your fingertips. These small pieces of butter create pockets of steam during baking, creating tender, flaky pastry. You’ll love this crust with my Best Apple Pie, Perfect Pumpkin Pecan Pie, Homemade Quiche, and Mushroom, Thyme, and Mascarpone Parcels.

Table of Contents

• What is Brown Butter Pie Crust
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Substitutes
• How to Make Brown Butter Pie Crust
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
• Flavor Variations and How to Use Brown Butter Pie Crust
• FAQs
• More Pie Crust Recipes

What is Brown Butter Pie Crust?

Brown Butter Pie Crust is a rich, buttery pastry made by browning butter until the milk solids turn golden-brown and develop a deep, nutty aroma. The browned butter is chilled until solid, then rubbed into flour to create a tender, flaky crust with delicious toasted flavor. It’s an easy upgrade for both sweet pies and savory pies. This recipe makes one pie crust, perfect for a single-crust pie or tart. You can easily double it if you’re making a two-crust pie.

Tools You Need

• Mixing bowl
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Glass measuring jug
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Light-colored skillet
• Spoon
• Heatproof bowl
• Whisk
• Pastry blender
• Cling film 

Key Ingredients and Substitutes

Butter

• Butter gives the pie crust its flaky, tender texture and rich flavor.
• The butter is browned and chilled for at least two hours until solid before using. Browning the butter adds delicious nutty, toasty flavor.
• It’s important to use cold butter for this pie crust. The cold butter melts in the oven, and the water in the butter turns to steam, which creates a flaky texture.
• For classic brown butter, use regular dairy butter rather than plant-based butter.
  • Plant-based butters don’t contain the same milk solids, so they generally won’t develop the characteristic golden-brown bits and nutty flavor of traditional brown butter.
• I prefer and always use salted butter for the extra flavor. But unsalted butter will also work in this recipe.

All-purpose flour

• All-purpose flour has a protein content of 9-11%, which is perfect for creating the necessary gluten structure in pie doughs while still yielding a tender pastry.
• Substitutes: If you’d like a gluten-free crust, use the same amount of a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend like my Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix in place of the all-purpose flour.

Powdered sugar

• Powdered sugar sweetens the pie crust. Omit the powdered sugar if you’re making a savory pie crust.
• Using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar ensures a smooth crust.
• If you’re out of powdered sugar, make your own with my quick recipe.

Salt

• Salt enhances the browned-butter flavor and keeps the pie crust from tasting bland.

Egg yolk

• The egg yolk helps bind the dough together while contributing moisture and richness.
• Use a cold egg yolk right from the fridge—using cold ingredients is essential to keeping the butter solid, which creates a flaky crust.
• Importantly, the additional fat in egg yolks makes the dough easier to handle.
• Substitute: For an egg-free version, leave out the yolk and increase the water to 4 to 5 tablespoons.

Ice water

• Water hydrates the flour.
• Using ice water is important because it keeps the brown butter cold and solid, which is necessary to create a flaky crust.
• Additionally, cold water makes the dough less sticky and easier to handle.

How to Make Brown Butter Pie Crust

To Make the Brown Butter

1. Prepare to brown butter. Place a small heatproof bowl near the stove.
2. Melt butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored skillet over low heat.

3. Cook until browned. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the butter turns a rich brown color and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.

4. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Immediately transfer the browned butter to the prepared bowl to stop the cooking.
5. Chill butter. Refrigerate until solidified, about 2 hours.

To Make the Brown Butter Crust

6. Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt.

7. Cut butter into flour. Scoop out the browned butter into the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry blender (or using your fingertips) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

8. Whisk yolk. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of water.
9. Combine ingredients. Stir into the flour mixture and bring together quickly to form a dough. Add the extra tablespoon of water if the dough seems very dry and crumbly.

10. Shape dough and chill. Shape into a disc, wrap with cling film, and chill for at least 1 hour and up to two days before using. It can also be frozen for up to eight weeks.
11. Use pie crust in your favorite recipe. Use it to make your favorite pie and bake according to the recipe.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW! 

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• Single-crust recipe. Note that this recipe makes one pie crust, enough for a single-crust pie or tart. You can easily double it for a two-crust pie.
• Use the best pan. I recommend using a heavy-bottomed, light-colored skillet or saucepan. You’ll get more even, controlled browning, and it will be easier to see the butter browning. I use a stainless steel pan. For more detailed expert tips, check out my guide How to Brown Butter.
• Take your time. Do not try to speed up the process by turning up the heat, or you will burn the butter.
• Watch carefully and stir constantly. When browning the butter, it can go from perfectly browned to burnt in a few seconds, so watch it carefully and take off the heat as soon as it smells nutty.
• Don’t strain the brown butter! The golden brown specks are toasted milk solids, and they give the brown butter its deep flavor.
• Chill the browned butter completely. Be sure to chill the browned butter until solid (at least two hours) before cutting it into the flour to ensure a flaky crust.
• Omit sugar for a savory crust. If you would like to use this crust for a savory recipe, just leave the powdered sugar out of the recipe.
• Egg-free crust option. For an egg-free version, leave out the yolk and increase the water to 4-5 tablespoons.
• Use a light hand. Handle the dough as little as possible in order to retain pieces of butter in the dough. This will make your crust flaky.
• Chill the dough disc. Refrigerate the dough disc for at least an hour and up to two days before using. Chilling makes the dough easier to roll out.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

Make-ahead tips

To make the Browned Butter ahead of time

• Cover the bowl of browned butter and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
• Let the browned butter cool, then pour it into a deli container. Once solid, you can pop it out in one piece and transfer it to a freezer bag, or leave it in the deli container with the lid securely fastened. Freeze for up to two months.

To make the Brown Butter Pie Crust ahead of time

• You can make my Brown Butter Pie Crust, wrap it well, place it in an airtight container, and store it for up to two days in the fridge.
• For longer storage, wrap well, and place in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to eight weeks.
  • Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before rolling it out and fitting it into a pie pan.

How to store leftovers

• Follow individual pie recipe instructions for storage recommendations.

Flavor Variations and How to Use Brown Butter Pie Crust

• Extra sweetness: Add an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar for a slightly sweet crust suited to fruit pies.
• Savory option: Leave out the sugar entirely for a savory pie or quiche crust.
• Add spice: Whisk a teaspoon of cinnamon in with the flour and salt for a spiced pie crust.
• Use for sweet pies: Perfect for sweet pies, including Pear Butterscotch Pie, Maple Cream Pie, Caramel Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pecan Pie, Mile High Sweet Potato Pie.
• Use for savory pies and tarts: Excellent for savory pies, including Mushroom and Thyme Tart, Chicken Pot Pie, Asparagus and Ham Quiche, Thanksgiving Leftovers Pie, and Quiche Lorraine.
• Make a crust for later: Make a double batch and save one pastry disc for a future pie.

FAQs

Does this recipe make a single pie crust or a double pie crust?

• This recipe makes one pie crust to use in a single-crust pie or tart.
• You can easily double it if you’re making a two-crust pie.

Can I use this crust for savory as well as sweet pies?

• You can use this crust for both sweet pies and savory pies.
• If you’re using the crust for a savory pie or tart, omit the powdered sugar. 

Why isn’t my crust flaky?

• For a tender, flaky crust, make sure your browned butter is completely chilled and solid (for at least two hours) before cutting it into the flour. If the butter is too soft, it can blend right into the flour instead of staying in small pieces that help create a flaky texture.
• Importantly, avoid overworking the dough, which can develop too much gluten and make the crust tough.
• Also, add enough ice water for the dough to hold together when pressed, but not so much that it becomes wet or sticky.

Can I make this Brown Butter Pie Crust gluten-free?

• If you’d like to make a gluten-free crust, use the same amount of a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend like my Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix in place of the all-purpose flour.

Is it possible to make this pie crust recipe without the egg yolk?

• For an egg-free version, use 1 tablespoon (15ml) of buttermilk instead, or leave out the yolk and increase the water to 4-5 tablespoons.

Do I need to chill the brown butter before making the pie crust?

• Yes, the brown butter must be chilled for at least two hours, until solid, before making the pie crust.
• Fully chilling the browned butter before cutting it into the flour creates small pieces of butter throughout the dough that create flaky tenderness during baking.

More Pie Crust Recipes

• Best Homemade Pie Crust
• Sour Cream Pie Crust
• Cookie Pie Crust
• Buttermilk Pie Crust
• Easy Puff Pastry

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