Skip to content

The Foolproof Science Behind Flaky, Tender All-Butter Pie Crust | Techniquely with Lan Lam

Watch this video on YouTube ↗
Mastering pie dough has never been easier. Lan Lam breaks down the food science behind Andrea Geary’s foolproof all-butter pie crust recipe. Using visual cues and a food processor technique, Lan shows how to balance flakiness, tenderness, and structural support without guesswork. Learn how frozen grated butter creates delicate, flaky pastry layers, while a measured flour-and-butter paste guarantees melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. Lan walks you through rolling, transferring, and crimping pie crust like a pro—demonstrating with both a blind-baked single crust for chocolate cream pie and a double-crust apple pie.

00:00 Intro: Perfect Pie Crust

00:38 The Anatomy of a Perfect Pie Crust

01:30 How to Develop a Flaky and Tender Pie Crust

07:28 How to Roll Out Pie Dough Evenly

9:20 Transferring, Trimming, and Crimping a Single Pie Crust

12:08 Pie Blind Baking Basics

12:30 Assembling and Double-Crust Crimping for Apple Pie

16:13 Blind-Baked Chocolate Cream Pie & Taste Test

Foolproof All-Butter Dough for Double-Crust Pie Recipe: https://cooks.io/4f2oAwm

Foolproof All-Butter Dough for Single-Crust Pie Recipe: https://cooks.io/4f2vGRz

Classic Apple Pie Recipe: https://cooks.io/4zYincX

Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe: https://cooks.io/47KO1Pj

Double-Crust Apple Pie Recipe: https://cooks.io/4yPsO1G

Discover more techniques and rigorously tested recipes on the America's Test Kitchen App: https://cooks.io/3Jv0Vbm

Get exclusive access to every recipe, review, and more via our homepage: https://cooks.io/3Wh9IUx

Buy our cookbook 100 Techniques: Master a Lifetime of Cooking Skills, from Basic to Bucket List

Discover the latest recipes, tips, and tricks from Cook's Insider or keep up with the latest in our test kitchen from Notes from the Test Kitchen: https://cooks.io/4eIYgHB

Subscribe to Cook's Illustrated: https://cooks.io/4BBAEyn

Subscribe to America's Test Kitchen: https://youtube.com/@AmericasTestKitchen?sub_confirmation=1 ​

Watch full episodes of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country for free on our new YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@ATKFullEpisodes

Buy our cookbook Kitchen Gear

Watch More! ​

In The Test Kitchen: https://youtube.com/watch?v=eLxup9tEP0M&list=PLnbzopdwFrnZsva37L040wy1u2RTOhqiF&pp=0gcJCWMEOCosWNin ​

The Taste Test: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SkqhwZqnA8s&list=PLnbzopdwFrnZ3usQguuxS2qWxlwj-9aN8 ​

Techniquely With Lan Lam: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnbzopdwFrnYyvwrqTB_5AhufdOMisGnF ​

Most Popular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2guC4Badq2s&list=PLnbzopdwFrnZcFFuiSDnaymlMCb9ANwC5

Follow America's Test Kitchen: ​

Instagram: http://instagram.com/testkitchen ​

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/testkitchen ​

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@testkitchen?lang=en ​

Facebook: http://facebook.com/americastestkitchen ​

Twitter: http://twitter.com/testkitchen ​

At America’s Test Kitchen, we investigate every aspect of cooking—recipes, equipment, ingredients, and techniques—with a goal to empower and inspire home cooks. Since 1992, our team of 50+ cooks, editors, and culinary creatives ask a lot of questions—and do a lot of testing—so that you get dependable, delicious recipes, comprehensive guidance, and thorough and unbiased equipment and ingredient reviews. You can find us in the pages of Cook's Illustrated magazine, on our television shows America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country, in dozens of best-selling cookbooks, and via the 14,000+ recipes, reviews, and classes available on our website and app. Whether you’re in search of a great weeknight meal or an impressive dinner-party dish, we’ve done the testing to deliver reliable recipes and comprehensive cooking info to your home kitchen. Bring your curiosity, and we’ll make you a better cook.

#AmericasTestKitchen #CookingTutorial #FoodScience​​

When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission.

More to explore