A truly memorable apple pie begins with the crust, and few techniques deliver better results than a grated butter apple pie crust. While traditional cubed-butter methods work well, grating cold butter creates thin ribbons of fat that translate into airy layers once baked. This method is popular because it’s consistent, easy to execute, and produces a crust that tastes like it came from a real pie shop.
What makes a grated butter apple pie crust special is how evenly the butter distributes without overmixing. Those delicate strands of butter stay cold, resist smearing, and create steam pockets in the oven that lift the dough into flakes. The end result is tender but structured—exactly what you want when you’re loading a pie with a juicy apple filling.
Chilling is the quiet hero here. Grating warms butter slightly, so a quick re-chill helps preserve the butter’s shape through mixing and rolling. Keeping your water icy and your handling gentle prevents excess gluten formation, which keeps the finished grated butter apple pie crust light rather than tough.
Apple pie is the perfect match for this technique because it bakes long and releases lots of moisture. A flaky, well-layered crust holds its shape, browns evenly, and stays crisp longer—even under bubbling fruit. With this grated butter apple pie crust, you get a base that can stand up to apples and still deliver clean, crunchy layers at the edge.
Once you try it, this becomes a go-to approach for not just apple pie, but any fruit pie where you want maximum flake with minimal fuss. It’s reliable, repeatable, and beginner-friendly—exactly the kind of technique that turns “good pie” into “make it again next weekend” pie.
Alphabetical Shopping List
- All-purpose flour
- Apple cider vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Ice
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
Ingredients (in Order of Use)
- 2½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226 g / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen and grated
- 6–8 tablespoons ice water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar.
- Grate and re-chill the butter. Grate the frozen butter using the large holes of a box grater. Refrigerate the grated butter for 10–15 minutes so it firms back up.
- Toss butter into flour. Add the chilled grated butter to the flour mixture and gently toss to coat, keeping the butter pieces intact.
- Add ice water + vinegar. Stir vinegar into the ice water. Drizzle in 6 tablespoons and toss with a fork. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just holds together (it should look shaggy, not wet).
- Form and divide. Turn the dough onto a clean surface and gently press into a cohesive mass. Divide into two equal discs.
- Chill the dough. Wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling for your apple pie (up to 2 days).
- Roll and bake. Roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Line your pie plate, fill, top, and bake per your apple pie recipe.
Recipe Card
