Hi. This is the first original recipe I’ve ever created and I love it very much. Pie is my favorite thing to bake and this pie is my favorite pie that I bake now. It combines elements from other the apple pie recipes that I used when I was learning how to make pie, like cooking down the apples a little bit first to prevent soggy bottom. I also just love a crumble topping. If you don’t then you could make this a double crust pie, it just might need to bake for longer. Also, I just recently added the step of blind-baking the crust. I like to do it just to make sure the bottom is nice and crisp, but if you’re short on time I’ve made it successfully without blind-baking the crust first. Is this the best apple pie ever? Probably not, but it’s mine and so it’ll always be special to me. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
- 1/4 cup ice cold water
For the filling:
- 3-4 Golden Delicious apples
- 3-4 Granny Smith apples (you should have about 3lbs of apples total)*
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp butter, cold
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- pinch cloves (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
For the crumble:
- 6 tbsp softened butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
* You can use whatever kind of apples you want, but it’s a good idea to choose at least two different kinds to create variation in flavor and texture. I also recommend a mixture of tart and sweet apples.
Instructions:
- Prepare the crust: Cube the butter and put back in the fridge while you prepare the dry ingredients. Mix together flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour using fingers or a pastry cutter until butter is distributed and you have a mixture of coarse crumbs and some larger shards of butter. Add ice water 1 tbsp at a time until dough just comes together in a shaggy mass (don’t add too much water or the crust will be tough). Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disc, then wrap in the plastic and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
2. Prepare and blind-bake crust: Preheat oven to 400 F. Sprinkle flour onto clean surface and roll out crust into a circle two inches larger than a 9inch pie pan. Press dough into pan, crimp edges, and prick holes into bottom with a fork. Line inside of crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pie crust is just beginning to take on some golden color. Remove pie from oven and lift out parchment and weights. Set crust aside.
3. Prepare the apples: Preheat oven to 450 F. Wash, peel, and cut apples into slices about 1/4 inch thick, then place slices in a bowl.
4. Cook the filling: In a large skillet over medium heat add butter, sugar, and salt and stir until butter has melted. When the mixture is bubbling, add the spices and stir. Add apple slices and lemon juice to skillet and stir to coat the apples in the sugar mixture. Let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until apples are just beginning to soften but are not mushy, and there is a good amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Set aside mixture to cool while you make the crumb topping.
5. Make crumb topping: In a bowl, add softened butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and optional walnuts. Cut butter into mixture using a fork or a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse sand. Set aside.
6. Assemble the pie: Spoon apples into par-baked crust, using a slotted spoon to ensure that the extra liquid is left behind. If you have a lot of apple filling make sure it is mounded in center of the pie. Cover filling with crumb topping (it might seem like a lot but pack it all on).
7. Bake the pie: Cover top of pie loosely with a piece of tin foil to prevent topping from browning too quickly. Bake pie at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350 F, remove tin foil, and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until topping and crust are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. (If top of pie browns too quickly you can re-tent the foil ). Let pie cool on a wire rack and let pie set for at least 3 hours before serving.
