My neighbor's pie crust trick changed my baking forever

I was helping my neighbor carry in her groceries last week, and she offered me some coffee. She was in the middle of making an apple pie and showed me how she swaps water for vodka in the dough. I thought it was weird, but she said it makes the crust super flaky and easy to roll out. I gave it a shot when I made a pie for my family, and it came out perfectly crisp. Now I use her method every single time I bake. It's cool how a simple chat can lead to such a great cooking tip.

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica_bailey1mo ago

Does the vodka leave any trace flavor, or is it purely for texture?

the_lucas1mo ago

Hey @jessica_bailey, are you trying a vodka sauce recipe or something? I messed around with that once. Honestly, the alcohol cooks off so you don't taste straight vodka, but it left this very tiny sharpness in the background that I actually liked. For me it wasn't just about texture, it added a little something extra that other liquids didn't. Mine turned out a bit thin though, so maybe I used too much.

corawilliams1mo ago

Wait, yours turned out thin? That's wild, mine always gets way too thick. Maybe you need to let it simmer longer to cook down the extra liquid.