This is a pretty basic apple pie recipe. The trick is to use at least three kinds of apples; I usually use two each of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and JonaGold or Roma. I sometimes throw in the odd Braeburn or Fuji, too. Stay away from Red Delicious. You might throw in six or eight blueberries for color, but not many.
The best apple pie I ever made included Wolf River apples from New Mexico. If you see’em, buy’em. If you’ve got a source, let me know.
Peel the apples and slice them very, very thinly, so that their juices commingle in ways usually unheard of in the apple world. No chunks.
For get-togethers away from home, or if I’m pressed for time, I use a Marie Callendar crust for the bottom , and a Pilsbury foldout for the top. That way there’s no pan to clean up or lug home. Here we go:
Pastry for two crust pie
Filling:
1/2 c Brown sugar; packed
1/4 c Sugar
2 tb Flour
1 ts Cinnamon; ground
1 pinch Salt
1 lg Egg
2 tb Water
8 c Apples; sliced (thinly)
1 tb Lemon juice
1 ts Vanilla extract
2 tb Unsalted butter
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Roll out the crust, line the pie tin leaving a
1 inch overhang.
3. Mix both sugars with the flour, cinnamon and
salt. In another bowl, whisk together the egg and
the water.
4. Toss the apples with the lemon juice, then the
sugar, then the vanilla in a large bowl.
5. Put the apples in the pie crust and dot with
the butter. Brush the edges of the pastry with the
egg glaze. Roll the top pastry thin and lay it
over the apples. Pull the overhang up and over and
crimp edges.
6. Brush the top crust with SOME of the egg glaze.
If you use all of it the crust is going to get
soggy. Cut slits and sprinkle with sugar if
desired.
7. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the
bottom third of the oven until the pastry is
golden and the apples are tender, about 50
minutes. I usually put a foil cover over the crimped crust,
so that it doesn’t get too brown. Remove from oven
and let sit at least 15 minutes before serving.
