There’s a lot to love about fall, but the sheer quantity of pie is pretty far up there, sandwiched somewhere between gray sweatpants and the society-wide celebration of witches.

Even as someone who has been making pies for years, I still get a lot of anxiety about pie crust. If you’re like me, when it’s time for fall gatherings, the pie is just one item on a long list of things to make – and a last minute pie crisis isn’t on the schedule.

That’s one reason I love an extremely simple pie crust that can be made ahead and frozen, waiting for the day you’ve got your warm filling ready to be spooned in. The recipe below makes one 9-inch pie crust with a bit of excess (in case you mess up the crimping). Give it a try and let me know what you think!

***I know I’m holding the mixing spoons weirdly, I was pounding in the last chunks of butter lol***

Basic Freeze-Ahead All Butter Pie Crust

Takes 30 minutes | Makes one 9” crust

Note: this recipe makes one crust for a single-crust pie but can be easily doubled for a pie that needs a top crust! In any case start slowly with adding the water as you may not need the full amount.

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface and hands
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, placed in freezer for 30 minutes prior to using
¼ cup cold water, plus more as needed (ice water is best here)

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Using the large-hold side of a box grater, grate in the frozen butter, cutting in with two forks or a pastry cutter half way through and again once all butter has been added.
Add half of the water, distributing around the perimeter and center of your dry ingredients, and stir. Add remaining water and stir again, stopping when dough is moist enough to form a clump when you pinch it, and being careful not to overmix. If the dough is very dry and will not hold together, add more water a tablespoon at a time.
Lightly flour a work surface or large cutting board, place the dough in the center and form into a disk about 4” in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to overnight.
Once the dough has chilled, return to a floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll into a 9-10” circle. Use steady, gentle pressure to roll out the dough, and try to avoid stretching it.
Carefully transfer to your pie dish, crimp the edges as desired and use according to instructions in your pie recipe.

Make-ahead note: if you are making this dough to use in the future, follow through step 3 and then place disk into a ziptop freezer bag and freeze. Move to fridge 48 hours before using to allow time to thaw, and pick up at step 4.