Is there anything more quintessentially Americana than apple pie? This classic apple pie is perfect for closing out these fall months and using up the last of the fresh apples. The trick to the best flavor is using a variety of apples – rather that just using one kind, mix and match your favorite apples to enhance the taste (my personal favorites are Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp). Top with a beautiful lattice crust and you’ve got a delicious, picture-perfect pie!
Apple Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300g)
- 8 tbsp cold unsalted butter (113g)
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (60g)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 7-10 tbsp ice water
Filling
- 8 cups peeled and sliced apples (960g) Granny Smiths are the classic, but I prefer an even mix of Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Honeycrisp apples. Pick your favorite or mix and match!
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 2 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (15g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (15g)
- 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted (70g)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, diced small
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 large egg, for egg wash
- splash of milk, for egg wash
Instructions
- First, make the crust. Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. cut the vegetable shortening into small pieces and add to the flour, and then cut in with a pastry cutter. Keep cutting and mixing until the mix is an even crumbly texture. Cut the cold butter into ~1/2" cubes and cut in the same as the shortening. COLD butter is essential here, this is what makes pie crust so perfectly flaky! You should keep cutting the butter into the dough until it's a nice crumbly mix, with some larger pieces of butter, but no larger than a dime.
- Add the ice water 2 tbsp at a time, mixing together with a fork. If after 7 tbsp the dough is wet enough that when you squeeze it with your hand it holds its shape, then you're done. If not, continue to add water 1 tbsp at a time until it has the right moisture. For pie crust, you want just enough moisture to hold everything together; too much and you loose the crumbly flaky goodness.
- Turn the crumbly wet mix out onto a clean countertop and form a cohesive mass with your hands. Press the dough out into a rough rectangle and then with the assistance of a bench scraper, fold the dough in half on itself, and then press together. Repeat another 3 times, and then divide the dough into two pieces, with one ~2x the size of the other. Form them roughly into a circle shape, 3/4" thick, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. NOTE: This recipe makes just about enough dough for a bottom crust and plain top crust. If you want to get fancier with your top crust, I recommend increasing the recipe to give you plenty of extra dough to work with for a lattice or decorations.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Using some cold butter, lightly grease the inside of a 9" pie dish.
- In a large bowl, add together the apple slices and lemon juice, mixing well to combine. In a small bowl, add the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Whisk well to combine, and then sprinkle over the apple slices a bit at a time, pausing to mix well with a large spoon to evenly coat the apple slices. Once all the dry ingredients have been added, add the apple juice concentrate and the vanilla and mix to combine.
- To assemble the pie, roll out the larger piece of dough into roughly a 13" circle, 1/8" thick. Carefully roll the crust onto the rolling pin, and then unravel it again onto the greased pie dish. It's important that you gently lower the crust down into the dish, rather than push it, as this will easily tear the crust. Leave any overhanging crust for now.
- Before adding the pie filling, gently prick the bottom crust all over with a fork, but not all the way through to the pie dish below. Spoon the filling into the bottom crust, spreading the apple slices around evenly. Add any juices that the apples released as well, as this will thicken well in the oven. spread the diced butter over top of the apple slices evenly.
- Roll out the second piece of dough into an 11" circle. Same as with the bottom crust, carefully roll it out over top of the filling. Now trim excess dough from around the pie dish, leaving a bit of an overhang. Fold the top crust over and underneath the overhanging bottom crust, and press together to seal. Alternatively, feel free to make any pattern of top crust that you like! Cut a few deocrative vent holes into the top crust, unless doing a lattice top.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and splash of milk to make an egg wash, and brush the top of the pie all over with the wash. Optionally, sprinkle with some coarse sugar before baking. Refrigerate the assembled pie for 10 minutes before baking to allow the crust to firm up a bit.
- Once the oven is preheated, place a parchment or foil lined baking sheet in the bottom rack to catch any errant drips, and bake the pie for 20 minutes (check at 10-15 to see if the edges are browning to quickly and cover them with foil, you will need to do this at SOME point during the bake, when exactly that happens depends on your oven and crust design). Reduce the temperature to 375°F and continue baking for ~40 minutes. Check on the pie a few times throughout baking and rotate it as necessary to ensure an even bake if your oven has hotspots. The pie is done when the filling is bubbling a lot up through the vent holes or lattice and the crust is a nice golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY. I don't care how good it smells, if you cut into a hot pie the filling won't have set and it will spill out all over! Store leftovers covered at room temp for a few days, or in the freezer for longer.
- Enjoy!
