Apple Pie My Way (Photos)

It is apple time here and when you find the correct grocer it is possible to find pretty good pie apples (they are not all equal for pie use). We went by Fresh Market the other day and I decided to buy some apples to make a pie.



As you can see, I bought five Macintosh and two Granny Smith apples for my pie. Conventional wisdom is that the best pies use more than one variety and if you look long enough or ask your grandmother, you will get a variety of favorite varieties to choose from. Granny Smith apples are tart, stay pretty crisp and hold their slice shape through the baking process. Macintosh are sweet and bake well, although I managed to over bake my pie and even though the taste was nice, I lost the slice shape from them during baking.

I have posted my butter crust recipe in the past.

Butter Pie Curst (Makes 2)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.
1 tablespoon sugar.
3/4 teaspoon salt.
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
4 - 6 Tablespoons ice water.

Start with very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Sift the flour/salt/sugar mixture into a bowl and then cut in the butter, to form pebble sized flour granules. If I have the time, I chill that in the freezer for a while and then add 4 Tablespoons of cold water and work a ball of dough. It may take the other two Tablespoons to get the ball to form and it may not - depends of the humidity and your flour. If needed, add them.

When the ball is formed, cut it into two roughly equal size pieces, form them into 2 inch thick wheels, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour if possible, then roll out a circle for the bottom crust and later on the top crust. Some will make a slightly bigger wheel for the bottom crust and that is fine since it takes more dough to roll out the crust for the bottom of the pie.

These crusts will hold (in plastic wrapped wheel) for a few days in the refrigerator. I am told they will freeze, but we never do that.

Anyhow, the crust is rolled out and then fitted into the pan when ready to make your pie.



For the filling:



7 medium large Apples (actually closer to 5 or 5 1/2 are all you need)
2 Tablespoons AP flour
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
2-3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 Teaspoon salt

Start by peeling and coring the apples. I hold mine in water to keep them from browning. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Lemon juice added to the water will help as will fruit fresh additive, neither of these were used today.



The whiter apples were the Macintosh and the greener ones were the Granny Smith.



Slice size is a mater of preference. I use the mandoline and go for a 1/4 inch thickness with the thought that I want to keep the slices consistent and make them easier to layer in the crust.



Into the bowl to add the other filling ingredients.
(flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice)



Always use freshly ground nutmeg. It is just better.



I mix the filling ingredients using my hands and continue mixing (turning them over in the bowl) until they are consistently even.

I like to place my slices to make certain they are well mixed (Macintosh and Granny Smith) and layered to fill the crust without voids. Sometimes I will cut slices in half to fill a space that is open. When the pan is filled high, I top the filling with pieces of butter, because it is butter - why not?



Then I roll out the top crust, place it over the filling slices, tuck the edges in under the bottom crust and pinch to form the edge of the pie. I never do that very well and because of that I never get Martha Stewart pie crust edges. My opinion is that as long as the edges are folded under and sealed, no harm occurs that impacts pie taste. Never had a slice turned down because the edges were not to International Pie Crust Form standards (ISO-528654N. Oh you need to cut a few slits in the top of the crust to vent steam. I also brush on a little butter and sprinkle some sugar on top, because butter and sugar....



Bake the pie for 20 minutes in a 475 degree oven (450 for me because I use a glass pie pan and go 25 degrees lower because of that). Then reduce the temp to 375 (350 for my glass dish) for 30 minutes.

Out of the oven and in holding mode until it cools.





Next day cut.



and fork





So I had almost two apples too many for my pie and used them in an Apple crumb desert.



Crumb was flour, butter, cinnamon, salt, sugar, mixed until crumbly. Sometimes I will add a little oatmeal if the mood strikes me.



Baked for 30 minutes with pie and then removed when top had browned.



Not pie, but it gave us something to eat last night during the eternity an apple pie must cool before you can cut and eat it.

These should hold me until Thanksgiving pie time comes around. If not, I know the recipe and where to buy more apples.

All of my stuff