Pie Crust Designs

Many people say that cooking is an art form, whereas baking is more of a science. With all the exact weights, ingredients, and percentages used in baking, this does not come as a surprise. However, one of the best parts about baked goods is how pretty you can make them in addition to how delicious they are on the inside. The artist in you will definitely appreciate a little room for creativity after you master your perfect recipe. One of the most common baked goods is the versatile, delicious, and tough to conquer pie. Many will argue that the crust is the most difficult part of a pie recipe to master, but once you have the recipe down, you can have a little fun with some beautiful and creative crust designs. The sky is really the limit here (or not even—you can definitely make a sky scene in your pie crust!), but we have compiled a list of some fun and simple (and some not-so-simple) pie crust designs that you can use to take your baked goods to a whole new level. Your family and friends will almost be too amazed to cut into your pies with these designs—but I am sure they will manage to eat them after all!

Start with the Right Crust

In all honesty, it does not matter too much what crust recipe you use—a yummy pie crust is a yummy pie crust. You will just want to make sure you have plenty leftover from your bottom crust. We recommend making two full crusts so you have plenty to play around with. A thicker dough will do nicely, and feel free to go heavy on the flour for the top layer. This will make working with your crust pieces much easier. We always recommend finishing with a nice brushing of butter or oil to get that gorgeous golden-brown color that will fully wow your guests.

Some Classics

The simplest pie crust decoration is actually created with the bottom crust—it is called the crimped crust. This one is very simple and can be completed in two different ways. The classic way is by crimping the edges in between your fingers at regular intervals around the entire edge of your pie. You will typically need about one extra inch of crust around the edges for this to work well. The even easier way (and a perfect method if you do not have quite as much extra crust on the edges) is by imprinting the tines of the fork into the edges of the crust all around your pie. This creates a clean, beautiful look in almost no time at all.

Lattice Pie Crust

The lattice pie crust may be your most classic decorative pie crust. You can see this on all types of pies, especially apple pies in the fall. The benefit of the lattice crust is that it covers the pie, but still allows you to see (and most importantly, smell) all of the delicious fillings inside! The key here is that it looks a good bit more difficult than it actually is to make, so your friends will think you went to a ton of extra trouble to impress them. To make a perfect lattice pie crust, you should cut all of your strips at about the same width. The lengths can vary, with the longest being in the middle. Place one direction of strips on the pie, exactly where you want them (so all of the horizontal ones or all of the vertical ones)—let’s say you start with placing the vertical strips first. Then, fold every other one of those vertical stripes back on themselves at the middle point. Starting from the middle, place your opposite direction strips down, horizontal in this case, alternating which of the vertical strips are folded and which are flat. This will create that weaving pattern naturally, without you having to actually over-under-over-under any of the sticky dough pieces.  You will want to keep some flour handy in case the strips start to stick to your skin, but overall this decoration is simple and quick, and will give your pie a definite wow factor.

Cookie Cutter Shapes

An easy way to make any pie fit for the season or special occasion is to use corresponding cookie cutter shapes: for instance, a pumpkin or a leaf for the fall, apple shapes on an apple pie, or even turkey shapes for that perfect Thanksgiving treat! You can use a cookie cutter exactly as you would with any normal cookie dough, or if you are extra-talented, create the shapes by hand with a knife. After you have created all of your shapes, feel free to layer them over the top of your pie however you wish—some of our go-to designs are to place them around the edge of the pie in a ring, or to layer them in concentric circles toward the middle like in these images. If you want to get even more bonus points, you could try making a holiday scene with multiple cookie cutter shapes. Your whole family could have fun with this idea, cutting out letters to spell a word, or their favorite shapes to place on top.

Spice up the Edges

Every good piece of pie has a solid crust edge on it. You can take these edges to the next level by decorating them in a myriad of different ways. We showed you how to create a crimped edge already, but this is nowhere near the end of the road for pie edge décor. You can use any object you have lying around to create a gorgeous imprint in your pie—we have seen keys, rings, silverware, and other ornate objects used to create patterns around a crust. Make sure you wash whatever object you are using, and then simple press it into the outside of your crust at regular intervals. Your guests will think they are in the presence of true artist (maybe do not wear your pie-stamping ring to the party that night!). You can use a spoon to scallop a pie edge, use scissors to cut edge tabs, or even use leftover crust strips to add a braided edge.

Draw on It

Some pies call for a full top crust, which can serve as a blank canvas for your decorating skills. When you lay the crust out on the counter, use a spoon edge, toothpick, or skewer to draw in the crust as you would in the sand. Baking the pie will emphasize the indentions, and make your artwork stand out more! It is a lot of fun to write messages in your crust for a special event, but we also recommend working with a tile-like design that begins in the center and follows a circle pattern out, so that each slice will have a perfect selection of your artwork. This would be a great technique to get your kids involved with, and see what masterPIEces they create.

Mix and Match

The best part about decorating pie crusts is that there is no right or wrong way. Most people do not take the time for any decorations on their crusts, so any effort you put into this will be extremely appreciated by your guests. You can truly be creative in this part of the pie-making process, and there are thousands of possibilities. One thing that can be fun is taking the above suggestions and mixing and matching them for a truly unique pie crust. Use your cookie cutter, but draw on the individual shapes to create more detail. Write a message on your crust for a Happy birthday pie! You can even try a combination of a bunch of different methods like in this tutorial—they combined the lattice technique with some braiding, some cookie cutter shapes, and even some drawing to outline the leaf shapes with even more detail. Together, these techniques created one of the most stunning pie crusts we have ever seen. Let’s face it—your friends and family already love you for making them a delicious pie. But if you want to turn that love into awe and appreciation, then a gorgeous pie crust decoration is the best way to go! Whether you have five extra minutes or an hour or two to play around, you can try out any (or all) of these pie crust decorating ideas to get the most out of your dessert. Let your creativity soar, and mix and match some of these fun tips for an extra-special dessert to share with all of your loved ones. We cannot wait to see how your pie-decorating skills are used to the fullest. Try out all of these ideas and share your creations with us in the comments below!