The Simple Trick for Keeping Your Pie Crust from Burning
Pies are the official dessert of the fall season — and for good reason! The combination of a buttery, flaky crust and a sweet, rich filling is practically unbeatable — especially if you top a slice with a scoop of ice cream or a generous dollop of whipped cream while it’s still warm.
That said, just about every experienced baker knows that there are some crucial steps to take when preparing a homemade pie, and it all starts with the pie crust. Steps like chilling your dough and blind baking the crust are all important, as is making sure the edge of your pie crust doesn’t burn before the rest of the pie is cooked through.
Many online sources recommend cutting multiple strips of aluminum foil and crimping them around the outer edge of your pie crust before baking it to prevent the edge of the crust from burning while the filling cooks. While this technique works pretty well, there’s an even better way to cut the foil to protect your crust — and it comes to us from TikTok.
Skip the Strips
Danielle Walker, of daniellewalkerofficial on TikTok, shared this brief but insightful video demonstrating how she lines her pie crust with foil without strips. To do it, Walker simply folds a large square sheet of aluminum foil in half, cuts a circle (with a perimeter that’s a little smaller than that of the pie plate), unfolds it and places it over the pie crust. Then, she gently crimps the sheet of foil around the edges.
To help with getting the right size circle, lay the folded sheet of foil gently over the top of the pie crust, covering one half of it. Make a note of the length from the center of the crease of the foil to a little short of the edge of the pie crust. “When cutting, the key is to start smaller than you think you need, because you can always fold it back up and snip off a bit more,” says Kitchn’s Executive Food Director, Nina Elder, who cuts foil for pie crust the same way Walker does.
The method is slightly easier than cutting a few strips of aluminum foil and then crimping each of them around the edge. Plus, you don’t have to do as much guesswork when it comes to making sure the strips are the right width and length. Not to mention, you don’t have to run out and buy silicone pie rings, which your local cooking store may or may not have.
So stock up on some foil and have a less stressful and more delicious pie season!