Love making pies but wish they didn't look quite so ... homemade? Learn how to crimp pie crust for a fancy, professional finish.
How to Crimp Pie Crust Like a Pro
Published on Jun. 12, 2025
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Classic Crimp
The basic, classic crimp is easy to do with a few tricks. First, make sure to roll out your dough so it hangs over the edge of the pie pan by about 1 inch. If using a double crust, both crusts should have the same amount of excess: use kitchen shears to trim around the edges to even them out. Then, lift the excess dough and fold it over the crust to create a double thickness of crust that’s wide enough to cover the entire rim of the pie pan. The most common mistake when crimping crust is not doubling over the edge, which makes for a too-thin crust that gets brittle or burnt when baking.
Finally, crimp the crust: Use your fingertips to gently pinch the layers of dough together. Most bakers use their thumbs and index fingers, with one hand pressing outward from the pie to create a pinched V shape, and the other hand pressing inward to stabilize the shape. Continue around the edge, rotating the pie plate as you go. Be gentle but firm when pinching.
A classic crimp is the go-to finish for both single- and double-crust pies, especially for novice bakers or anyone in a hurry. You can even use this technique on store-bought pie crust.
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Fork Crimp
A fork crimp is the easiest method for finishing a pie crust. Once the dough is rolled and the edges are trimmed and folded to form a crust, you’re ready to fork crimp. Press the tines of a fork into the crust, squeezing the layers of dough together and imprinting the edge with a nice striped pattern. Again, spin the pie pan as you crimp to go all around the edge. Finish the crust with an egg wash for a golden brown color.
As with the classic crimp, the fork crimp is great for all types of pies. It adds a homey, rustic quality that’s especially fitting for down-home vintage pies.
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Crosshatch Crimp
Ready to get a little fancy? Try the crosshatch crimp. This is like the fork crimp, but angled and overlapped. Go all around the crust, pressing the fork into the edge at an angle. Then, press the fork around the edge again going on an angle in the opposite direction. Voila! You’ve created a more complex design without breaking a sweat. Use a crosshatch crimp anywhere you’d use the classic crimp.
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Spoon Crimp
Spoon crimping is a fun method to try because it’s as easy as a fork crimp, but much less common, so it stands out on the bake sale table. Basically, you’ll use a spoon to press arches into the crust, making a design like scallops or bunting.
To crimp with a spoon, press the tip of a floured spoon about halfway into the edge of the crust. Press the convex side into the crust so it leaves a line, not a divot. Repeat with the same spoon, this time adding a second impression closer to the edge. The curved lines of a spoon-crimped pie are pretty and oh-so-simple.
We think the spoon crimp looks best on single-crust pies, as a double crust can be a bit thick for this technique.
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Pleated Crimp
For a pleated crimp, don’t fold the excess pie crust over the edge before crimping. You’re going to fancy up that edge! With kitchen shears, cut the edge into small diagonal strips. (You know those signs on community boards with the little tabs along the bottom that you can rip off to take someone’s phone number? You’re essentially cutting the same kind of tab into the edge of the dough.)
Now, fold each tab up and over the edge. One at a time, it doesn’t look like much, but once the whole pie edge is folded up, the crust actually looks pleated in a cool geometric way. This crimp works best with single-crust pies, since the end of the tabs will be covered with the pie filling.
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Cookie Cutter Crimp
A cookie cutter crimp delivers a professional-level finish, but is absolutely doable for a baker who’s mastered all the other crimping methods. One big difference is that, for this crimp, you’ll need extra pastry dough. Once you’ve arranged your pie crust into the pan, roll out the extra dough. Use very small cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough. Press the “cookies” around the edge of the pie. Simpler shapes tend to work best, like flowers, leaves or hearts, since they will overlap a bit.
We like this crimp style for pumpkin pies or pretty spring pies—especially single-crust ones. Just prepare a double-crust recipe so you have enough dough, then cut out all the extra dough with cookie cutters. Any unused dough can be baked like sugar cookies, or frozen and saved for a later pie.
