Homemade Apple Pie
Here is your go-to, standard, apple pie recipe. It's really good without being "try too hard." This is the recipe that our grandmas all made and we've just mucked it up over the years.
Servings - 1 9" pie
Equipment
- 9" Glass or ceramic pie pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 7-8 cups sliced apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Pie Dough Crust (See Blog for Details)
Instructions
Before You Prepare the Filling
- Prepare the pie dough into the disc stage, prior to rolling it out, and keep it in the refrigerator until the apples are sliced and coated. Preheat oven to 375°F so that it is ready to bake once your pie is prepared.
The Pie Filling and Baking
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, spices. Set aside.
- Slice the apples into 1/8" or 3/16" thin slices. It up to your preference to peel first or leave the apple skin on. Transfer the apple slices to a large mixing bowl, gently toss with the lemon juice. Sprinkle half of the dry mixture on the apples, toss to coat, sprinkle the remaining mixture on, toss to coat. Set aside.
- Roll out the pie dough into two 1/8" thick discs. Carefully drape one sheet over your pie plate and lightly press into place. Layer or scoop the prepared apple slices in the pie plate making sure there are no large gaps with no apples. Place filled pie dish in refrigerator while you roll out the top dough.
- Roll out the remaining half of the pie dough to 1/8" thick. Use the least amount of flour on your counter as possible. You don't want the dough to stick to the counter, but you don't want it coated in flour either. Remove pie plate from refrigerator, cut the 1 tablespoon of butter into small pieces and place on top of apple filling. Drape the top dough over the filling, trim the edge so that both top and bottom crust barely extend beyond the dish, then pinch the bottom and top crust together into a fluted (wavy) pattern. Poke or cut holes into the top crust to allow steam to escape, brush the dough with a little milk.
- Place the pie pan on a baking sheet. This makes it easier to remove the pie from the oven without accidentally breaking the crust. Cut a piece of foil so that it only covers the outer inch of the edge of the pie. Place lightly on top of the pie.
- Place the baking sheet on the second lowest rack in your oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off, rotate the pie 180°, bake for 25 more minutes. If the top looks golden then bake for 5 more minutes. If the top still looks pale, bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pie dish on a wire rack to cool.
- Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Preferably allow the pie to rest in the pan for 60 minutes to allow the sugars to cool and firm the filling.
Notes
For an easier baking day, you can prepare the pie dough up to two days ahead of time and leave, wrapped, in the refrigerator. When you're ready to prepare the pie and bake, remove on disc at a time so that the dough is as cold as possible before rolling it out.