This week I needed to test my apple pie skills. I'm making it for an upcoming party and wanted to make sure I knew how to make it correctly. Great news, it came out WONDERFULLY. I don't super love apple pie, but oh man this one is GOOD. Here's the recipe, and some pictures I took along the way:
1 recipe
pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I made my own, but I'm sure that the store-bought Pillsbury kind would work perfectly fine)
1/2 cup
unsalted butter3 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
1/2 cup
white sugar
1/4 cup
water
6-8Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced, depending on how big they are. I had huge apples so I only needed about 6.
First, peel and core your apples. I have this cool tool that cores them and slices them all in one motion. I got it at the Dollar Tree and it's one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. Then, slice up your apples. I like mine very thin, but you can do it however you like. I feel like the thin slices end up cooking more thoroughly. This seriously is the hardest part of making the pie.
Next you want to melt a stick of butter (yeah, a whole stick. We're not messin' around here.) in a saucepan.
When it's all melted, add your flour. Cook it for a couple of minutes to get the raw flour taste out. This will help make a paste (or roux) for your apple pie "goo." And yes, "goo" is the technical term for the yummy liquid found inside your apple pie. :)
The recipe I was loosely following did not include cinnamon. I thought that was just ridiculous. How do you have cinnamon-less apple pie?! If you aren't digging the cinnamon, leave it out, but for me it's a must.
After you've cooked the flour and butter for a couple minutes, add your sugars and cinnamon. Stir until combined, then add the 1/4 cup of water.
And man does it make beautiful sauce. MMMmmmm I could just drink that stuff in a mug. (Don't worry, I didn't.) Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes, but watch it so it doesn't burn!
While you're waiting, get your crust stuff ready. Halloween decorations optional.
If you made your own, flour the surface and roll it out to about 1/4" thick. Try to keep it in a circle shape, but if you don't it's fine. I never can seem to keep it round.
So this trick I learned from Chef Robert Irvine on Food Network. You know the ridiculously buff, scary, British military man that goes in and fixes people's restaurants? Him. If you rub butter on your pie crust before filling it, it prevents soggy crust. The fat in the butter acts as a barrier to the sauce. Neat, huh? I would recommend doing it differently than I have pictured here. The way I really do it is to take some softened butter on my fingertips and rub it on that way. Then you don't tear your yummy crust.
Roll out your top portion of pastry dough and cut it into strips for your lattice top. Don't be intimidated by this. I was, and it's actually super easy. You need to have a lattice top for your secret weapon later. ;)
Place your apples in the pie crust. You don't have to make them all organized like me, but it brings joy to my perfectionist heart to see my apples neat and tidy. Also, I feel like if you organize them it evenly distributes the apples. I poured probably half of the goo on the apples at this point. I tried to move them so it would cover all of them.
Put on your lattice strips like so:
Here's the secret weapon! Pour the rest of your goo ON the crust! It will sink through the holes in your lattice top, and it makes the crust golden brown, sweet, and crunchy. Best tip ever!
I couldn't get a picture before we dug right in. It was DELICIOUS!
I'm so happy I found an apple pie recipe that works! There are a couple tweaks I'm going to make to the recipe that I think will improve it, but it's pretty darn good just how it is. I'll let you all know if my tweaks make any difference!
Now, excuse me, I need my pre-workout pie.
