This versatile Cream Cheese Pie Dough is rich & tender from tangy cream cheese. Yet flaky and crisp thanks to real butter and vodka. It's an easy pie dough perfect for pies, hand pies and galettes.
I bake a lot of pies and hand pies. And more often when I am feeling a little lazier, a whole lot of galettes. Almost exclusively, I turn to my foolproof All Butter Vodka Pie Dough recipe. Because it works. It's a reliable and solid recipe that is easy to make and bakes up like a buttery, tender and flaky dream. However, I recently started using this easy, tender Cream Cheese Pie Dough in a bunch of my pie, hand pie and galette recipes. This pie dough is ultra tender, fabulously flaky and brings a bit of mystery. It needs to shared with the world.
This Cream Cheese Pie Dough recipe stems from my classic All Butter Vodka Pie Dough but is a difference experience altogether. There are new flavors and textures happening in this dough, giving it that something extra.
Cream Cheese transforms pie dough into a rich and tender experience
All I did here was slightly adapt my original recipe pie dough recipe. The vodka is still in there to give it that signature flaky crust. If you aren't down with vodka, you can sub in apple cider vinegar. Both help create a more tender dough and evaporate faster than water when baking, resulting in a flakier crust. Ice cold water works too. Don't stress, it's gonna be great no matter which direction you go.
Key ingredients for a perfect pie crust recipes
- Real Butter - It just tastes better. I use high quality, European style butter with a higher fat content for its superior flavor and stability in high heat.
- Vodka or Apple Cider Vinegar - Both options help to create a more tender dough and evaporate faster than water when baking, resulting in a flakier crust. Be sure it's ice cold for the best mixing results.
- Sugar - Gently sweetens the pie dough, leveling out that buttery flavor with a hint of sweetness.
- Fine Sea Salt - Enhances the buttery flavor and allows the mild sweetness to come through in a balanced flavor combo.
As always, I use high quality, European style butter with a higher fat content in my pie dough recipes. It gives pie dough a superior flavor and texture that can't be matched. The changes comes from the incorporation of cream cheese and pulling back a bit on hydration, since the cream cheese itself has a lot of moisture. I use a little less salt and that's it. We still use the same techniques and tools. The changes are minimal but the end results are major.
Benefits of Cream Cheese in Pie Dough
- Taste: The cream cheese adds a richer, tangy undertone that compliments sweet fruit fillings beautifully. And would add a creamy compliment to savory fillings.
- Texture: The cream cheese gives the pie dough an almost velvety texture. It feels more luxurious and tender. The edges don't have quite the same crisp breakage in the bite as my traditional pie dough. But, the flakiness is still there and the crust is unbelievably tender.
- Workability: I'd say this Cream Cheese Pie Dough is actually a bit easier to work with than my traditional pie dough. The cream cheese lends a pliability that makes it roll out smoother and more easily.
I can't pick a favorite between this recipe and my All Butter Vodka Pie Dough recipe, they are so different and offer their own delights. But, I truly love having the option of this Cream Cheese Pie Dough when I want to add a little luxury to my pie, hand pie and galette recipes.
Techniques for making perfect pie dough
Keep your cool
Keeping the butter and vodka or apple cider vinegar ice cold, ensures a more tender pie dough. This allows the ingredients to mix up rustically, without over-blending.
Don’t over-mix your pie dough
Mix pie dough together until it just starts to come together in crumbly, pea sized granules. If you completely mix the butter into the flour, the pie dough will be tough. Texture and crumbly bites will create air pockets that puff up and expand in the heat. Resulting in a flakier, cripier pie crust.
How to tell if pie dough is properly hydrated
Once sufficiently mixed, the Cream Cheese Pie Dough should look mealy with small, pea-sized crumbles. The dough should just come together when you gently squeeze a fistful together. gently squeeze it together. This is the best test for checking pie dough hydration!
Using this easy pie dough recipe in my Cherry Hand Pies with Cream Cheese Crust and Apricot Almond Galette with Cream Cheese Crust recipes resulted in some of the best pairings I've ever made. The Cream Cheese Pie Dough gives the hand pies and galette an elegant cheesecake flavor. The addition of cream cheese just really elevates the whole pie dough.
That interplay between the cream cheese and stonefruit is really something special to be experienced. I suspect this pie dough would be pretty spectacular with my Ricotta, Potato & Spring Pea Galette or my Huckleberry Hand Pies.
Next time you bake a pie, try taking things up a notch with this easy, elegant and tender Cream Cheese Pie Dough.
Try this pie dough in my Cherry Hand Pies with Cream Cheese Crust recipe
Or try this textural and tender Apricot Almond Galette with Cream Cheese Crust
Recipe
Cream Cheese Pie Dough
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 pie dough disks
Description
This versatile pie dough is luxuriously rich, made with smooth and tangy cream cheese for the most tender texture ever. European style butter and vodka give the dough an unmatchable flakiness perfect for pies, hand pies and galettes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (- cold and cut into ½" - ¼" cubes)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (- cold and divided into ½" - ¼" hunks)
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vodka (or apple cider vinegar or water) (- ice cold )
- 1-2 tablespoons water (- ice cold )
Instructions
- https://bakingthegoods.com/apricot-almond-galette-with-cream-cheese-crust/If using a food processor, place flour, sugar and salt in food processor bowl and pulse a few times to mix.
If mixing by hand, place the flour, sugar and salt in mixing bowl with high sides and whisk together. - Cut the butter and cream cheese into ¼"- ½" cubes. If they start to warm up or soften, place back in the fridge to firm back up for a few minutes.
- If you have a food processor, you can use it to mix the pie dough. Place the dry ingredients, cubed butter and cream cheese in food processor. Gently pulse until the flour changes from silky to mealy; this should only take a handful of pulses so watch it carefully.
If you don't have a food processor, you can easily cut in the butter and cream cheese by blending the flour mixture with either a pastry blender, two butter knives or even just by squishing it between your fingers, just be careful that the butter doesn't start to melt. - If using a food processor; while pulsing, slowly pour the vodka (or apple cider vinegar or water) through the feed tube just until combined. At this point, I like to turn the crumbly dough into a large mixing bowl to check the hydration level of the dough by gathering a small fistful; if it holds together, it’s ready. If it is dry or crumbly, slowly add the ice cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, using a fork to blend. Test the dough by pinching it occasionally.
If you aren't using a food processor, use a pastry blender or fork to combine the vodka into the dough and slowly add ice water if necessary.
*Be careful to add only as much water as it takes to combine the dough into a ball or disk. The exact amount of water can vary depending upon the moisture content of the flour, the quality of the butter, and the weather. When it has the proper amount of water, the dough will come together without much effort or deliberate packing. If you need to add more water, make sure the ingredients are still cold. - Form the dough into two disks and wrap them in plastic wrap or place them in a reusable, sealable baggie. Chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours before rolling and forming.
If you don't plan on using the dough on the day you prepare it, you can store the dough in the freezer. *If it sits in the refrigerator too long, it could start to turn a grayish color.
This dough will last at least a couple of months if wrapped up tightly in the freezer. Defrost the frozen dough overnight in the fridge before using or on the counter 1.5 -2 hours before using. - Allow the Cream Cheese Pie Dough to sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before rolling it out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough disk into a 11" - 12" round, about ⅛" thick. Then use as desired for any pie, hand pie or galette recipe.
Notes
This dough will last at least a couple of months if wrapped up tightly in the freezer. Defrost the frozen dough overnight in the fridge before using or on the counter 1.5 -2 hours before using.
Try this pie dough in my Apricot Almond Galette with Cream Cheese Crust or Cherry Hand Pies with Cream Cheese Crust.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: hand pies
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