DAE regret picking butter over shortening in their pie crust for Thanksgiving

Jennifer Ellis · 2026-09-30T09:25:04.25483+00:00

So I had two recipes staring at me on Wednesday night, one from my mom's old index card box that calls for shortening and one from a baking blog that swears by all butter. I went with the butter because I figured more flavor equals better pie, and I had exactly 2 sticks left in the fridge so it felt like fate. Big mistake. The dough got so soft I had to keep shoving it back in the fridge every 5 minutes, and by the time I got the top crust on it looked like a patchwork quilt from a bad sewing project. After it baked, the edges slumped down into the filling and the whole thing tasted fine but the texture was way too flaky and crumbly, it basically fell apart on the plate. My sister took one bite and said it reminded her of a toaster pastry, which stung because I spent 4 hours on this thing. Now I am sitting here wondering if I should just go back to the shortening recipe and accept that sometimes the old way is the right way. Has anyone else made this swap and actually gotten it to work, or do I need some trick I am missing like freezing the butter and grating it?

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DAE regret picking butter over shortening in their pie crust for Thanksgiving | Bakers - The Community Guide