Best Apple Pie Recipe
If you’ve had trouble mastering the art of a delicious apple pie, I’m sharing some secrets for the Best Apple Pie Recipe.
Yes, homemade pie crust can be a pain, but it tastes so much better than store-bought. And if you have trouble with your pie filling being too juicy, I have a tip for that dilemma as well! This Homemade Apple Pie has a sweet, fall spiced apple filling and a tender flaky crust combining to make the best autumn and holiday pie!
Best Apple Pie Recipe
I’m always on the hunt for a foolproof pie crust, and this recipe from Nick Malgieri, cookbook author, and baking guru comes darn close. Made with all butter, the flavor is outstanding. Next time, I may sneak a little shortening in to replace part of the butter for a more pliable dough for rolling. I’ll let you know how that goes with my pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving!
But Malgieri’s take on apple pie filling is spot on and a technique I’ve been using for years. He precooks the apples which prevent the formation of a big gap between the top crust and filling. This is a frequent occurrence when the apples shrink while baking. Brilliant! This homemade apple pie recipe is a winner!
Tips for Making a Homemade Apple Pie
I love peach and raspberry pies in the summer but come fall and winter, and a perfect apple pie is king! Baking an apple pie from scratch with fresh, local apples and a homemade crust will dazzle your family and friends! Give it a try!!!
The Best Apples for Pie
- Use a variety of apples for the best-tasting apple pie. Granny Smith apples are always a safe bet, but if you find Northern Spys, they make an incredible pie. Jonathans are terrific, too. PRO-Tip: A mixture of apples gives a nice depth of flavor. I frequently combine Granny Smiths with Golden Delicious. One is firmer, one is softer, one is tarter, one is sweeter. Both recommended for baking.
- Often the produce department will have signs indicating which apples are best for baking, cooking, or eating. Or check with the produce manager if you’re unsure.
Homemade Pie Crust
- If you’ve never made a crust from scratch, give it a try. Even if it’s not picture-perfect, the flavor will be so much better than a store-bought crust or dough.
- The key to a flaky crust is to have little bits of fat distributed throughout the dough. So use a pastry blender or food processor to mix your dough until it resembles coarse cornmeal. If it’s overmixed, the baked crust will not be flaky.
- As mentioned above, saute your apple slices in some butter until they’re just tender, but not overly soft. The purpose is twofold: preventing a gap under the top crust and ensuring that all the apples get thoroughly cooked.
- I only used cinnamon in this pie, but I also love some gratings of fresh nutmeg. But don’t overdo the nutmeg. A little goes a long way.
- Malgieri adds some baking powder to his pie crust recipe. This aids in creating a lighter, flaky crust.
- PRO-Tip: For a top-notch pie crust, have both the fats and water very cold. Though this pie crust recipe doesn’t use any shortening, I do keep some Crisco in the freezer just for pies.
- Keep your dough chilled before rolling and get your pie into the oven before the pie dough gets warm. It’s the cold fat that helps produce tiny little pockets of air that make a flakier pie crust.
- I like using the food processor to mix my crust. Process until the mixture looks like cornmeal with a few pea-sized bits of butter visible. Over-processing will prevent a flaky crust. You can also mix by hand using two knives or a pastry blender.
- After you add the water, you should be able to pinch some dough between your fingers and have it stick together. If it does not, add a tablespoon more of cold water and repeat. It may need a second additional tablespoon of water if the dough is still a bit dry.
- Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Roll the dough, making quarter turns after each passing, redusting the surface lightly as needed to prevent sticking.
- Be careful not to incorporate too much flour into the dough or it will toughen your crust. You should roll the dough to approximately 1/8-inch thick. Overworking the dough will also make for a tougher crust by activating the gluten.
What Ingredients are used for an Apple Pie
- Fresh apples (I used golden delicious, Granny Smith, and Jonagolds), peeled and sliced just before using so they don’t oxidize (brown).
- Butter
- Fresh lemon juice (do not use bottled as it’s inferior)
- Sugar (you may use more or less depending on the sweetness of apples)
- Cinnamon or your favorite apple pie spices. (Note that the apple spice mixture you can find with the spices in the grocery store contains cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cardamom. So feel free to use any of these)
- Egg, salt, and sugar to glaze the crust
How to Make an Apple Pie Filling
- As mentioned above, saute your apple slices in some butter until they’re just tender, but not overly soft.
- The purpose is twofold: preventing a gap under the top crust and ensuring that all the apples get thoroughly cooked before the crust is too dark.
- I only use cinnamon in this pie, but I also love a few grates of fresh nutmeg. But don’t overdo the nutmeg. A little goes a long way.
How Long to Bake an Apple Pie
- The length of time varies on how hot your oven runs, the kind of apples you use, the size of your apple slices, and how many apples are under the crust. So times listed are just suggestions.
- When you’re getting close to the baking time listed in your recipe, use a sharp knife to pierce a few apples through the crust. the knife should not hit any resistance and should slide in easily (this is easier to do with a lattice crust, but you can still do it through your air vents if you have a full top crust).
- Since the apples are precooked in this pie, look for the crust brown and the filling to bubble and thicken.
What are the Best Apples for Pie?
If you’re lucky enough to live in apple country, you have numerous choices of locally grown apples. Here is a list of some of the popular apples for pie:
- Granny Smith
- Golden Delicious
- Northern Spy
- Idared
- Pink Lady
- Pink Pearl
- Ginger Gold
- Jazz
- Jonagold
- Cortland
- Honeycrisp
- Braeburn
- McIntosh
More Fall Desserts You’ll Love:
If you’re on the hunt for more autumnal desserts, check out this roundup of my favorite apple recipes or if pumpkin is more your style, this old-fashioned Pumpkin Roll. My family adores this Cream Cheese Filled Apple Bundt Cake, too. I’m loving the sound of these 5 Fall Desserts That Will Make You Swoon as well as these 10 Must Make Fall Desserts!
Do you have a favorite fall dessert? Let me know in the comments!
The Recipe: Perfect Apple Pie
A terrific recipe for the perfect apple pie with a few tricks included!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 sticks cold butter, cut into tablespoon slices
- 4-6 tablespoons very cold water (I like to add a few ice cubes to a measuring cup with about a half cup of water...use that to pour into your measuring spoon).
Filling:
- 3 pounds apples (I used golden delicious, Granny Smith, and Jonagolds), peeled and each cut into 8 slices
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar (you may use more or less depending on sweetness of apples)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- Dash of salt
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in food processor and pulse a couple times to mix. Add butter and pulse till mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 20 short pulses. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of water and pulse about 5 times or until dough starts to come together.
- Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers. If it doesn't hold together add up to 2 more tablespoons of water, pulsing after each addition until the dough holds together. Recheck dough after each addition till it holds together.
- Put half of dough on a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap completely and repeat with other half. Refrigerate disks at least an hour before rolling.
- Melt butter in large saute pan. Saute apples for about a minute, gently stirring to coat apples with butter. Add lemon juice and sugar and cook until the apples are just tender, about 5 more minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and mix to combine. Allow to cool while rolling out bottom crust.
- Preheat oven to 400º.
- Place bottom crust into 9-inch pie plate. Fill with apples. Roll out top crust and place over apples. Seal edges and flute if desired. Cut a few vents into top crust to allow steam to escape. Alternatively, you can cut the top crust into slits and weave to make a lattice crust.
- If desired, whisk egg with salt. Brush lightly over crust and sprinkle with sugar.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375º, and bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is browned and filling is bubbling. Cool on rack.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Notes
Adapted from Nick Malgieri.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 552Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 395mgCarbohydrates: 72gFiber: 5gSugar: 36gProtein: 6g
