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Tenderflake Recipe for Pie Crust

4.96 from 46 votes
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The Tenderflake Recipe for Pie Crust is my favourite pie crust recipe, bar none. The effort you have to put in is worth the end result, trust me!

Tenderflake Pie Crust used in turkey pot pie
Tenderflake Recipe for Pie Crust

How to Make Pie Crust

Making a pie crust is definitely not effortless, but there are certain things in life that are worth the extra time. A flaky homemade pie crust is one of them! A disclaimer as well : I am still practicing my own pie dough making, so I’m not an expert at this either! It’s still going to take me a while to make the perfect pie crust! 

  • Whisk together flour and salt. Cut in Tenderflake with pastry blender or 2 knives until the lard is pea sized within
    the flour.
  • In a 1 cup measure combine the vinegar and egg. Add the ice water to make 1 cup.
  •  Gradually stir liquid into Tenderflake mixture, adding only enough liquid to make the dough cling together.
  • Gently gather the dough into a ball and divide into 6 equal portions.
  • Wrap the portions and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.
  • Roll out each portion on a lightly floured surface.
  • Transfer the prepared dough to pie plate.
  • Trim and flute shells or crusts and bake according to your pie recipe.

Flaky Pie Crust with Lard or Shortening

In all my internet travels eyeballing delicious delights by other creative cooks, I sometimes have the feeling that pie pastries using lard are presented as almost passé. So very many now use butter – and I am a butter lovin’ gal! – with various methods of combining ranging from food processing to stand mixers. Everyone seems to almost be chanting “the taste…the taste…the taste!!” while singing the praises of butter.

Butter is great. I love butter. I love the taste, what it does in cooking and that it’s natural compared to margarine. I even like pie pastries that use it.

But when it comes down to what your gramma made?

Baby, it’s lard. And getting your hands dirty.

My grandmother’s recipe is her adaptation on the Tenderflake recipe that’s right on the box, or as one of my favorite chefs here in Edmonton, Chef Stanley Townsend (former head of the culinary department at NAIT so he knows his stuff) once wrote  in his description of his last meal:  “tennerflake”.  He too, insists that the pie made for his last meal would be pure lard.

Pie Crust of turkey pot pie in a pie pan over red cooling rack

Tennerflake is a Canadian prairie institution. Yes, I’m singing the praises of lard. The original Tenderflake recipe has the added zing of vinegar which is unique to it. There’s just nothing like it, at least to me. Lard pastry combines the taste and the flake in a combination that I think is perfect.

I made this the other day to play around with pie dough and hone my skills.  I bit into a piece and almost teared up, thinking of my Grandma Marion and the pies she used to make. That vinegar tang with Saskatoon filling…there is no other taste in this world that has such tangible, instantaneous memories for me. Summers at her place, exhausted from playing the creek, running around her farm, fishing, swimming, you name it, only to tumble into her small kitchen at the end of the day for her dinner of deer or duck, always ending with her Saskatoon Pie.

Yes, there’s quite a bit of bias going on here at my end of things, so forgive me that. Some people wax poetic about butter in their pastry, I tear up over lard and vinegar.

close up turkey pot pie with Tenderflake Pie Crust

Tips & Tricks for Making Pie Crust

  • The key to the dough is not overworking it. I know, I know, that’s what every recipe says. The truth is, when you think you have it mixed enough, you have probably gone too far.  Combine to the point where you think it’s not really done. By the time you gather it into a ball and divide, then roll out, that dough is going to be combined enough.
  • I also suggest if you are truly going for impressing people with your pie crust, don’t use the stand mixer or food processor to mix the dough. I can truly say that the time it takes me to mix by hand is a mere 4 minutes, the cutting in of lard about 3 and then barely a minute of mixing.
  • I’d encourage everyone to make a batch to practice on, like I did. I froze half of it for future use, played with one portion seeing how much “flake” I could get and then topped my chicken pot pies with it.
  • Think of it like children’s play dough. Don’t get stressed out. Practice with your dough, roll it out and heck, make shapes out of it and bake them up. Break it too see how flaky it is inside. Have fun and be amazed at what you can do!

I’m not a pie expert by any means.  So knowing I am far from an expert and almost all thumbs sometimes, look at this crust! If I can do that, so can you. Seriously. And my pie crusts are just going to get better and better as I practice more. I just made this pie crust again last week with my new Turkey Pot Pie recipe, so I’m still at it!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Love,

Karlynn

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How to make a flaky, decadent pie crust that is just like your Grandma made. This is the classic Tenderflake recipe! #pie #crust #lard #dessert

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Tenderflake Recipe for Pie Crust

How to make a flaky, decadent pie crust that is just like your Grandma made. This is the classic Tenderflake recipe!
4.96 from 46 votes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Total Time
11 minutes
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings
6 pie shells
Calories
1096
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 pound Tenderflake lard
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • ice water

Instructions
 

  • Whisk together flour and salt. 
  • Cut in Tenderflake with pastry blender or 2 knives until the lard is pea sized within the flour. 
  • In a 1 cup measure combine the vinegar and egg. Add the ice water to make 1 cup.
  • Gradually stir liquid into Tenderflake mixture, adding only enough liquid to make dough cling together. 
  • Gently gather the dough into a ball and divide into 6 equal portions. 
  • Wrap the portions and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes (if you are using right away) or freeze for future use. 
  • When you are ready to use and the dough has chilled for at least another 15 minutes, roll out each portion on a lightly floured surface. If the dough is sticking, chill again for another hour or two. The dough must be cold to be flaky!
  • Transfer the prepared dough to pie plate.
  • Trim and flute shells or crusts and bake according to your pie recipe. Yield: 3 9-inch double crust pies or 6 pie shells.

Recipe Notes

This is a great recipe as it yields 3 double pie crusts, which means you do the work once and have three crusts!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 1096kcal, Carbohydrates: 87g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 77g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 790mg, Potassium: 132mg, Fiber: 3g, Vitamin A: 40IU, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 5.5mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. gypsy says

    Making this now for my Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie. My mother always used Tenderflake and I continue the tradition.5 stars

  2. Cynthia Fedak says

    I agree with you 100%, I am 71, my pies use this same recipe, they always turn out flaky. My mom and grandma both used lard and were excellent cooks and bakers.5 stars

  3. Bonnie says

    How much of the liquid do you usually leave in the cup ?

  4. CherylBarnhartRobinson says

    Always made pies that were picture perfect, but you needed a jack hammer to cut into them,……..then I tried Tenderflake, the same my mother and grandmother used.  So flaky, picture perfect,……….and you can eat them too!!! Love Tenderflake, the only trouble now is I find everyone wants me to make pies, lol

    5 stars

  5. 4umo says

    My Mum used the Tenderflake recipe and made amazing pies. And now I’ve been using the same for over 30 years. I was taught by my Mum to use a knife to ‘stir’ the liquid in. She said it made a flakier crust…not sure why, but I do what my Mum told me and it turns out every single time! (She was a smart lady!) I’m just in the middle of making my 12 dozen annual Christmas butter tarts…

    5 stars

  6. rx7chick says

    I just made a scratch pumpkin pie with this crust. It is baking now. I
    am in Romania and so far have not been able to find leaf lard.I did
    find some that has a bit of a bacon aroma but thought that would not be
    suitable. Then I read a comment from a lady who said not to dismiss the
    smoky lard, that it goes quite well with fruit pies. So, I decided to
    give it a try. It came together beautifully. I will report back on
    flavor. This is my very first lard crust and I have been baking for
    nearly 50 years. .

    5 stars

    • rx7chick says

      Well, it turned out perfectly! Even the slightly smoky lard didn’t interfere…flaky to perfection. Thank you!!

      5 stars

      • thekitchenmagpie says

        rx7chick That’s wonderful! Thank you for letting me know! I love hearing it! Take care!! 

  7. rx7chick says

    I just made a scratch pumpkin pie with this crust. It is baking now. I am in Romania and so far have not been able to find leaf lard.I did find some that has a bit of a bacon aroma but thought that would not be suitable. Then I read a comment from a lady who said not to dismiss the smoky lard, that it goes quite well with fruit pies. So, I decided to give it a try. It came together beautifully. I will report back on flavor. This is my very first lard crust and I have been baking for nearly 50 years. .

    5 stars

  8. Janis says

    Wonderful! Now if you can tell us where to buy this brand (or any other brand) of pure, non-hydrogenated leaf lard then it would make the story complete.

  9. Happy Gourmand says

    So true! My Mom used this one, and I cut the recipe from a Tenderflake box to put in my first ever book of recipes 🙂

    5 stars

  10. Rick Black says

    Best pie crust ever!! I tell everyone about this recipe.

    5 stars

  11. Rick Black says

    I tried Crisco once for pastry…turned out rock hard. Never tried using is again.

  12. Rick Black says

    I used this recipe once when I was a child and my pastry turned out better than my grandma’s. Ever since that time I was always asked to make the pastry for the pies. I’ve been using this recipe for over 40 yrs now.

    5 stars

  13. Shannon A. McDonald says

    I used to make pies all the time and my pastry was awesome. (Always lard, always tender flake but my grama’s recipe). Then I had kids or something and it all stopped working (hard nasty stuff). Maybe I’ll try again… Thanks for the inspiration

  14. Diane Grace says

    I have always used this recipe. I have tried to make the Crisco recipe but it just doesn’t work for me.

    5 stars

  15. Haley Radke says

    I asked my Grandma for her secret pie crust recipe and she handed me the Tenderflake recipe cut off the Tenderflake box.

    5 stars

  16. The Kitchen Magpie says

    If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ! 😉

  17. Melody Kennedy says

    Wholeheartedly agree. Look no further than the Tenderflake!

    5 stars

  18. The Kitchen Magpie says

    Haha I know, right? As amazing a baker as my grandma was, this was her pie crust recipe!

  19. Sarah Schultz says

    Yup! Tenderflake is the bomb. Both my grandmas only use Tenderflake!

  20. Shelley says

    I use this recipe all the time. My pies are flaky and taste fabulous!! Butter crusts have NOTHING on this one!!! 

    5 stars

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      JerryKing  No temperature, in the instructions it says to bake according to pie recipe directions. All recipes are different!

  21. blackmargaret8 says

    This IS my reicepe why can’t u tell me how long 2 bake it?

  22. KariEvasiuk says

    Yup … the tenderflake pie crust recipe is the best … bar none!

  23. Karlynn Johnston says

    Mmm butter tarts…..and yes, lard baby, nothing but lard! I scoff at butter crusts. Not that they aren’t good….but it’s NOT the same at all! I enjoy a good buttery crust sometimes, but some pies are sacred and must have lard! (apple& saskatoon for starters)

  24. Erin says

    Yes! I Always use lard- I love the taste and the flaky-ness, I find the butter pastry way too rich- which sounds funny- we’re talking about pig fat here- obviously it’s also rich. I mix it quick by hand with my spoon, then turn it out and actually knead it for, like, 20 seconds. It always comes out flaky- I think it’s harder to beat the gluten- and therefore toughen it up, than people think.

    I am about to try your butter tart recipe.

  25. Karlynn says

    My Grandma’s amounts are slightly off from Tenderflake’s recipe, her own version of it, making the difficulty level harder for first timers. I always wonder about the Company’s Cooking recipes, especially the older ones, since so many are the exact same as my grandma’s but slightly different and some of those are DEFINITELY family recipes from my great Baba, before Company’s Coming was around. Rural prairie recipes depend on who publishes it first, I guess. What came first, the recipe from Baba’s or the cook books? I’m pretty sure it’s the recipes from prairie Baba’s!

  26. ACanadianFoodie says

    This is the recipe I always use – and my mother used – and her mother – maybe Tenderflake got it from our family!

    :)V

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