Homemade apple pies are easy; It’s the crust that is always tricky for me. If I have time, I make the dough from scratch, but I often cop out and by the ready-made variety. Homemade dough gives you that ethereal, light quality but it can be time-consuming and easy to make it too tough.
It’s okay to cheat sometimes! Shhhhh.
One note though, avoid the shells you find in the freezer – I feel like they always break and no matter how hard you try, the taste of a rolled-out dough baked in the oven is impossible to replicate. I tend to by the rolled-dough you see pictured above. For my dough recipe, scroll down to the end of the post. What follows is my tried and true apple pie recipe.
Serves: 8 people
Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
You will need:
- 7 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples. This will be about 7 small apples. (I like granny smith, gala or empire or a combo)
- 1/2 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbs all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbs butter
- For the crust, you will need enough for 2. One for the top; one for the bottom
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Step 2: Combine apples, sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix around until the apples are coated and there is no loose powder.
Brown sugar goodness. Mmmmm.
Step 3. Place the mixture in a dough lined 9 inch pie plate. Dot with slices of butter.
Step 4: Assemble the top crust and press edges with your fingers in whatever pattern you wish.
Vent the top of the pie.
Coming up with different patterns is fun.
Step 5: Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. After the ten minutes, reduce the temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender. Cool upon a rack and serve. If the crust gets too dark, cover it gently in foil.
Extras:
- I like to coat the crust with melted butter and sprinkle it with brown sugar and an extra dash of cinnamon.
- Serve it with some vanilla bean ice cream.
Homemade dough recipe:
This recipe makes enough for 2 or a double crust pie.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water.
Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter. Mix (use a hand mixer or processor) until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal ( a few pea size pieces of butter is ok)
Step 2: Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cold water. Mix until the dough is crumbly, but holds together when squeezed with your fingers. If necessary, add a tiny bit of water at a time until you get the right consistency. To do not overdo it, or your crust will get tough, not flaky. ‘
Step 3: Transfer half of the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a circle roughly 3/4 inch thick. Wrap tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour until firm. It will hold up for 3 days and can be frozen for 3 months. Repeat with the second half.
When I am top of holiday game, I will pre-make a few batches and freeze them until Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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