A beautiful flaky and buttery crust encasing sweet delicious apples! Perfection in a pie. I strongly encourage you try making this pie to impress your dear loved ones! It really is a labor of love.
The recipe is here, and pictures of the process are below.
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup, 225 g), refrigerated
8 ounces all-purpose flour (1 2/3 cups; 225g)
1 tablespoon sugar (15g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cold tap water (1/2 cup; 115g)
Apples:
3 pounds baking apples (2 lbs. when peeled, cored, and chopped)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. corn starch
Baking:
Egg wash (one egg mixed with 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling
Directions:
To make the crust:
Tip: whenever working with pie crust, work quickly. You don't want the butter to melt of the dough to be overworked.
Whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch rectangles (cut each stick in half and then cut 1/2 inch segments).
Toss the butter in the flour and then squish each piece of butter so it's "smooshed." You don't need to get it pea-sized or smaller, just make sure each piece is smooshed.
Add the water, about 1/3 of it at a time while gently tossing the mixture. When it's all added, squish the dough together into a mass.
Dump the dough onto a work surface. Fold it like a letter (1/3 down and 1/3 over that, brushing off flour as you go) and then in half again. Roll into a large rectangle about 1/8 or 3 mm thick. Cut out a circle/square big enough for your pie pan. PLace it in the piece pan, gently letting it fall into place. Cut off excess dough, leaving about an extra 1/2 inch border. Tuck this border underneath around the circumference of the shell. Wrap the pie and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to chill.
With the leftover dough, smoosh it together, wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour before re-rolling. This will become the top pie crust.
Prepare the apples:
After rolling out the top pie crust and refrigerating, start on the apples.
Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/8 inch slivers. Toss them in the brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until well mixed. Set aside.
Assembling and baking the pie:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Position the oven rack on the second to lowest position.
Lay the apples in the pie crust, making sure they are flat and the rounded edges face out in order to fit as many apples as possible in the crust. Pour any leftover liquid from the bowl over the apples.
Top with the other rolled-out top pie crust (either the whole crust, lattice style, or however you'd like). Use egg wash to stick the dough to itself if it's not working. Trim the excess dough from the edges, press the 2 crusts together to seal, then fold the edges under. Flute the edges, if desired.
Brush all over with egg wash and sprinkle with the sanding sugar, regular sugar, or cinnamon sugar over the top. Use a paring knife to cut a few vents in the top for steam to escape if using a solid top crust.
Bake for 40-50 minutes on the second lowest oven rack or until golden brown on the top and bottom crust. It the top gets too brown, lay a piece of tin foil over it to prevent excessive browning.
Let cool for 2-3 hours, then slice and serve.
Store at room temperature up to 2 days after baking.
After mixing the flour, salt, and sugar together.
Add in the cold butter.
After "smooshing" the butter in and before adding in the flour.
After mixing all the water in. Now time to roll out!
Before rolling out.
First roll it out. Then...
Ater folding like a letter (the bottom 1/3 up and then the top 1/3 on top).
Fold the letter in half. Then you'll roll it out again.
After rolling it out.
Cut into the size of the pie pan (don't discard the leftovers!)
After trimming off the excess dough and tucking the edges underneath all around the pie. Now time to wrap and refrigerate!
The pie crust needs to chill. The leftovers also need to be squished together and chilled!
The leftover dough is also wrapped and chilled. This will become the top crust.
After chilling for 1 hour you can roll out the top crust.
After rolling the top crust.
After rolling it out wrap and refrigerate it for another hour.
Now that the pie crust is mostly finished, time to start the apples!
Peel, core, and slice the apples.
After slicing them.
After adding the sugars etc. and before mixing.
After mixing the apples and spices together.
Time to assemble!
First the chilled crust.
Then the apples.
Then you can do a lattice using the top chilled crust.
After decorating the top crust with a lattice and some little leafy things.
Brush the crust with egg wash and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Time to bake!
After baking!
The original apple pie filling recipe: https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelleno/guide-to-perfect-apple-and-pumpkin-pie-crust-recipe
The original crust recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/06/old-fashioned-flaky-pie-dough-recipe.html
Comments