Apple Pie

As soon as the leaves start turning colors, it means the best season is upon us. It means apple picking, pumpkin spice candles, Halloween…..and apple pie. Apple pie and vanilla ice cream is as American as American comes. It’s one of my favorite desserts. Although we didn’t go apple picking in the traditional sense, we did go to the farmer’s market down the street and pick the best apples from the bin!

Pie Crust – the best part.

There are so many recipes for pie crust out there….and I’ve tried a lot of them. They always consist of flour, some sort of very cold fat (butter or shortening), salt, sometimes sugar, and ice water. The fat is what creates that buttery texture and taste we all love about pie crust.

You start by mixing the flour with any salt or sugar. Actually, you start by putting your butter in the freezer to get it really cold (or keeping the shortening in the fridge). By having cold fat when mixing into the flour, it helps you have these little pockets throughout the dough which eventually turn into that buttery, flaky texture once it’s baked. Ice cold water is another important part of the process. In my experience, I’ve never used the full amount of water in the recipe. It’s important to add it in slowly when it’s time because it takes a few seconds to work its magic. Once it starts coming together, you can work it with your hands on a floured surface into a ball and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 30 minutes).

This time around I used Tasty’s recipe for pie dough, and I think it turned out really well. The only thing I did different was using only 4 oz of the ice water instead of the full 8 oz. The rest of the pie was my own recipe.

The Filling

There are *a lot* of different apple types. Some are better than others for pie. McIntosh, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or Honey Crisp are all best suited for baking. In this pie, I used New York grown Cortland apples, which unlike most apples, Cortland’s don’t turn brown after they’ve been sliced, so you don’t have to worry about timing once they’re cut. They are also slightly tart while also sweet, so you get the best of both worlds.

I peeled all of the apples, but wasn’t too crazy about it. If there were some that had a little skin on them, I left it…it gives the pie texture. Core the apples and slice them thin, adding them to a large bowl. I then added the lemon juice, flour, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. I like to use fresh nutmeg and grate it as I need. To me, it has much more of a homey warm essence than the already grated version. Once everything is mixed together, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before covering and putting into the fridge until needed to make sure all of the apples can soak up the flavors.

Rolling out

When you’re ready to roll out the dough, I think the most important thing to remember is to keep your rolling pin and the surface you’re working on well floured. A good tip when you’re ready to get your dough into the pie plate, is to roll the dough onto the rolling pin, and then roll it out into the plate. When you’re rolling the dough onto the plate, it also doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s the nice thing about dough. It’s like when you were a kid and you played with Play-Doh and smushed two pieces together. Dough can be very forgiving once it’s rolled out. I took a piece of excess I had and pressed it firmly onto the spot where the dough wasn’t rolled out enough. It worked like a charm, you couldn’t tell the difference.

I hate to waste the pie crust scraps, it’s the best part, afterall! So I cut out a few cute apples and laid them on top. You can really cut out any shape you want – numbers or even letters! I also like to make Pie Crust Cookies (cut them into whatever shape you want, brush them with egg wash and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top and bake- or even fill them with Nutella or peanut butter!)

Print Recipe

Apple Pie

I use Tasty's recipe for the pie dough while using a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and both white and brown sugar with the apples, creates a perfectly sweet and tart delicious apple pie!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Course: Dessert

Servings: 8 people

Author: Christina

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold, cubed butter
• 4 oz ice water I only used 2 oz

Filling

• 8 cups sliced apples I used Cortland
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar light or brown would work here
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (about two lemons)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg I use fresh nutmeg
• 1 egg beaten
• Raw sugar option

Instructions

Prepare the pie dough:

• In a medium-sized bowl (or Kitchenaid), add the flour and salt. Mix with a fork until combined. Add in cubed butter and break up into flour. If using the Kitchenaid, you may need to help the butter into the flour with either a fork or a pastry cutter, until the butter is about the size of peas, but OK if there are slightly larger lumps. Gradually add the ice water and continue to mix until the dough starts to come together. (I only used 2 of the 4 oz) The dough should not be very tacky or sticky. Work the dough together with your hands and turn out onto a floured surface. Work into a ball and cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Prep the apples:

• Peel the apples (it's okay if there is some skin left), and thinly slice into a large bowl. Add the flour, sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and toss well to combine. Let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

Build the pie:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When you're ready to roll out your dough, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temp for about 10 minutes. When ready, cut the dough in half. Working on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin, begin to roll out each pie, about 1/8" thick. Make sure to keep your pin and surface floured to ensure your dough doesn't stick. Once you're all rolled out, roll the first piece onto the rolling pin, and then roll out into the pie plate. Trim any excess dough and keep to the side. Pour the apples along with all of their juices into the pie plate, and cover, using the same technique, with the second half of the rolled out dough. Trim the excess, and press the top and bottom together, either with a fork or your fingers.

  Brush the top and sides, every inch of the pie, with the beaten egg. Make four slits on each end of the pie, and then four more in between those, to allow the steam to release. Lastly, sprinkle the top with raw sugar (optional).

  Bake the pie for about 50-60 minutes, covering the pie halfway with aluminum foil if the top starts to get too brown. You want the top to be golden, not burnt. Allow to cool completely before serving with your favorite vanilla ice cream!