Cream Cheese Dough is super simple to make and a great recipe to have in your repertoire. It’s tender, flaky and rolls beautifully. This is my go-to hand pie dough because it is tasty yet sturdy.
Have I ever told you about my love affair with all things pie? Ha, ha! Of course I have.
I believe that a really great pie is impossible without a really great crust. Of course, once you master the Perfect Pie Crust you could use it for every pie you make.
Me? I like to choose a specific crust for the type of pie I’m baking. That super tender and super flaky Perfect Pie Crust is exactly what I want for Glazed Maple Apple Pie.
But if I’m making a savory galette or pasties I prefer to use an awesomely delicious Rye Pie Crust .
This dough is made with cream cheese and butter and it’s my go-to hand pie dough. I use it to make Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies, Sour Cherry Almond Hand Pies, Roasted Strawberry Hand Pies and Fried Tequila Peach Hand Pies.
Why Cream Cheese Dough is a great hand pie dough:
Why is cream cheese dough the perfect dough for hand pies? Because this recipe makes a crust that is not too tender or too flaky.
Yes, Yes, tender and flaky is generally exactly what we want in a pie dough. But hand pies are, you know, “handled” a bit more.
- A super tender crust might crumble apart as you pick up and eat a hand pie.
- A super flaky crust can be a bit brittle and break apart when rolling. This can be a problem when you need to roll, cut and shape individual pies.
- Instead of a mixture of all purpose and cake flour, this recipe uses only all purpose flour. This makes a dough with a more sturdy structure that can stand up to the rolling, cutting and shaping required for hand pies.
- A little sugar is added for flavor, browning and tenderizing
- Instead of all butter, or 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening, this recipe uses 1/2 cream cheese and 1/2 butter.
- The cream cheese adds flavor from the milk solids.
- The cream cheese has protein so the crust will brown better. Since hands pies are in the oven for much less time than regular pie, faster browning is needed for a golden crust.
- Because cream cheese is less brittle than butter, the dough rolls easily without cracking.
- There is some butter in the dough for flavor and flakiness.
Scroll through the step by step photos to see how to make Flaky Cream Cheese Dough:
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.
Flaky Cream Cheese Dough
A great flaky pastry made with cream cheese and butter. This dough rolls beautifully
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (13.75 oz 385g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (.5 oz, 14g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup (4 oz, 112g) cream cheese, cut into 1" chunks
- 1 stick (4 oz, 112g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1" chunks
- 1/2 cup (4 oz, 120ml) cold water
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Toss in the cream cheese. Using your fingers, mix the cream cheese into the flour until it resembles coarse corn meal.
- Toss the butter into the flour and use your fingers to work it in. Allow the flakes to break up into slightly smaller pieces. Work quickly so the butter doesn't get warm. Don't break the butter down completely. There should be some large flakes remaining.
- Pour the water onto the flour all at once and toss to combine. Gently work the dough just until it comes together. Form the dough into a rectangle or square, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, or make it the day before and let it rest overnight.
- The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
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Liberty
Friday 17th of February 2023
Interesting! I use a similar method, cream cheese and butter first and then I add a little flour at a time til it's not sticky basically, but I'll try it in this order next time with the added water. I think my usual recepies I've used is 2 cups of butter to one and a half cups cream cheese. I'll try this next time though, be interesting to compare!
Faith
Thursday 16th of February 2023
So for example, if I'm making a apple pie...I use this recipe for the dough...but get my oven temp & cook time from my apple pie recipe I'm following correct? Or no lol
Eileen Gray
Thursday 16th of February 2023
Yes!
Shirley
Sunday 20th of November 2022
You did not mention the oven temp or how long to bake it!
Eileen Gray
Sunday 20th of November 2022
That will depend on the recipe you are using. This recipe is for the dough, but how you fill the dough and what the filling is, etc will determine the cooking. For example, I use this dough for Blueberry Hand Pies and for Fried Peach hand pies.
Verna
Sunday 16th of October 2022
Excellent, I made apple and cherry hand pies and this crust was fantastic.
Wendy
Friday 30th of September 2022
Hi!…would this pastry be OK for a tart mold…I want to make some strawberry Tarts..and it has to stand up to being blind baked!
Wendy
Sunday 2nd of October 2022
@Eileen Gray, Thank you!….I will try the ‘Short dough’ it sounds delicious!
Eileen Gray
Saturday 1st of October 2022
Yes, you can use this dough for a molded tart. It can be blind-baked. Since it's a fairly soft dough I would line the pan with foil or parchment and fill with beans or pie weights or sugar so the dough doesn't collapse before it sets. For strawberry tarts a better dough might be my Short Dough. It's the best for fruit tarts.