Butterless Flaky Pie Crust

To get the coconut oil solid so we can break it into pieces, spread out the coconut oil into an even layer over a sheet of parchment paper and then place into the freezer for about 15–20 minutes to fully harden.

In a food processor, combine whole wheat pastry flour, sea salt and coconut sugar. (You could also combine in a large bowl and mix with your hands.) Pulse the food processor a few times to mix.

Break hardened coconut oil into small chunks. Add the pieces of hardened coconut oil, pulsing just as much as necessary to break the pieces into even pea-size lumps.

Add ice cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing in between, until dough sticks to itself when pinched. (I always need more water, but I start with just 4-5 tablespoons to be safe.)

Remove flour mixture from the food processor and place onto a clean, dry, flat surface, then gently shape into a disk. If the dough is too crumbly and refuses to cooperate, you can add more water, tablespoon by tablespoon, as needed.

Wrap the disk in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 10 minutes. Remove the chilled disk from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to make it easier to roll out.

Flour your surface with more of the whole wheat pastry flour. Using a rolling pin on your well-floured surface, roll out dough to form an approximate 12-inch circle. Be sure to continue to flip the dough over and generously flour each side so as not to have the rolled-out dough stick to the surface. (If it doesn’t cooperate despite heavy flouring, roll it back up into a ball and start again. That’s ok.)

Place the rolled-out dough onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it meets the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Using a knife, carefully trim the dough around the top edge of the pie dish, leaving about a ¼-inch to ½-inch overlap. Fold the edge of the over and under the edge of itself, pressing together. You could leave the edge as is, or to style it more, you can either crimp the edges using your thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.

Now, all you need to do is fill this pie crust with your filling and you’re good to go! Bake according to your pie recipe.