Sour Cream and Butter Pie Dough

Best pie dough yet—supple, easy to crimp, and flaky! Use for sweet or savory.

I recently worked on this new dough which uses sour cream for both flavor and moisture, replacing almost all of the water in a traditional pie dough. The results were better than I could have wished for—a supple dough that is easier to work with than previous recipes, goes together more quickly, and much easier to crimp.

Hand pies: Scraps make a fantastic hand pie, and you’d be hard pressed to know it’s made from re-rolled dough. Just roll out to pie thickness, spread with your favorite jam, sandwich, crimp, and bake. Glaze for hand pies: I love a glaze of just water and sugar—it gives the crust a beautiful, crackly appearance like that looks like ice. Simply brush dough with water, evenly dust with granulated sugar, and bake at 400f. For an extra crackly crust, brush and sugar twice.

Sour cream pie dough process (glaze at end is optional)

From left, French Apple Tart with Frangipane, cherry pie, Tarte Tatin

Hand pie with apricot jam, baked in a long rectangle and glazed with water and sugar before baking

Tools you may need:

• I really like this OXO scale

• for a 9-inch tart ring, without a removable bottom, this one is a good choice

• for a traditional 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom

• I’ve been trying out this Nordic Ware half-sheet, 2-pack and like them