How to Crimp A Pie Crust

Pie crimping is kind of an obsession of mine. Actually, The One would call it a fetish. (Please. Fishnet stockings and black patent leather stilletos are a fetish. But that’s another post for another day.) My pie-crimping obsession started back in 1993 when I saw my first Food Network television program. Baker Flo Braker was making a Lucerne tart, and those sexy, satiny folds of dough beguiled me. Still do. And lo these 20 years, no matter what the pie–apple pie, maple pecan pie, pumpkin pie, blueberry pie, you name it—I’ve got a crimp for it. I’ve decorated the perimeter of my pies with lattice work, leaves, braids, rope crimps, checkerboards, “white knuckle” crimps, and perfectly shaped pearls of pâte brisée that would make any proper Upper East Side matron clutch hers. You get the idea.

But food and prop stylist, recipe developer, and writer Libbie Summers has me beat. By about 14 pie crimps. In this remarkable video, Libbie demonstrates 20 pie crimps in 120 seconds. I have to say, some of these are new even to me, Herr Crimper Meister Meister Crimper. Her video alone will keep you in pie crimps for an entire year. Maybe two.

While there are literally dozens and dozens of pie recipes on our site that you can use to master your crimping technique, there is none closer to my heart than our best lard and butter pie crust recipe. (And I don’t mean “closer to my heart” because it contains lard, smart ass.) So, go forth, my children, and crimp every last dagnabbit Thanksgiving pie on your dessert table with Libbie’s suggestions. And while you’re saying grace, don’t hesitate to thank me. Libbie, too.