I love pie. More than almost any other dessert. I enjoy cake, cookies, brownies, but pie is where it’s at. When the first apples begin to ripen on the trees near us (around September), I begin to crave apple pie. Apple pie has many variations, and lots of personal preferences. If you were to ask my grandmother, she would say it must be served with cheddar cheese, (something my husband calls heresy). Some people love a very soft filling, some super sweet, some with a bit of a crunch, and with various amounts of spices. This pie is my favorite combination: al dente apples, buttery crust, and plenty of spice.
Perfect All Butter Pie Crust
Oh, the illusive all butter pie crust. It is flaky, light, and delicious. Not to mention usually difficult to handle, easy to overwork, and time consuming. I have tried many recipes with different methods and ingredients that promise to fix these issues. From adding vodka to grating frozen butter (talk about a pain). This recipe uses some thoughtful approaches, while making it totally approachable. I make it in my food processor in about 5 minutes, but it can also be done by hand if you do not have one.
Begin by combining the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Next take your butter and cut it into pats, I aim for one tablespoon each. Let’s talk for a minute about flakiness. We all love it, but it can be difficult to achieve. It’s so disappointing to bite into a pie crust and realize that it is tough. So what makes it flaky? The butter. If your butter is melted throughout the dough, there will not be any flakes. You must leave some pieces of butter unworked so that as they bake, they force the layers of dough apart from each other, making flakes. Cold butter is key, no need to freeze, just pull it straight from the refrigerator. The food processor is helpful in this because it allows you to combine it quickly without overworking the dough. Now that your butter is in pats, add it to the food processor.
Put the lid on, and pulse a few times. You’re looking for a mixture sort of like sand, but with some larger shells of butter. Again you do not want it to all be small and sandy, or the flakes will not form correctly. Once you have achieved this texture, begin to slowly add the cold water. Some recipes call for ice water, I have not found this necessary, simply cold water from your fridge or tap will do fine. You just want to stay away from water that is warmer than the butter and will cause it to melt. As soon as the dough begins to form into a ball on one side of the processor, stop! Even if there are some crumbs at the bottom that are not worked in, you can press them together during the next step.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of either wax paper or plastic wrap. Press the dough into a cohesive disc and refrigerate. If I have a lot to do or want to prep in advance I will leave it in for 2-48 hours. If I am in the process of making a pie, I simply leave it in for as long as it takes me the make the filling.
The Apple Pie Filling
Now we come to the heart of the matter: the apples. There are many great options when it comes to varieties of apples to use for your apple pie. Some of my favorites are: Cortland, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or a combination of Macintosh and Granny Smith. This boils down mainly to preference. If you include some Granny Smiths you will have a firmer, more tart apple pie. If you go for Cortland you will have a softer more even texture, and Honeycrisp will yield a nice sweet pie. For this pie I used a combination of Honeycrisp and Pink Lady that I had on hand. Whichever variety you choose, you will need to wash and peel 8-10 apples, depending on size. The ones I had were particularly small so I used 12. Slice the apples thinly, and put them in a large bowl with sugar, flour, lemon juice, salt, and spices. Mix them together while you assemble your delicious pie crust.
Begin by lightly dusting your work surface, then put half the pie dough onto it, (you will use the other half for the top). I find it easiest to continually rotate the dough as I roll it out. This helps keep it even and prevents it from sticking to the counter. You can always add more flour if you feel like it is sticking. Your goal is for a circle that is a few inches larger in diameter than your pie plate, that way it will go up the sides and have some overhang for the crust. Place your rolling pin at one end of the circle and roll the crust up around the rolling pin, then unroll it over the pie plate. Smooth it out in the plate so that you don’t have any creases or air pockets underneath. Now pour your delicious apple pie filling into the pie plate. I like for there to be a small mound in the middle, not so much that it domes, but enough that when it cooks it won’t be sunken. If you feel you have too much filling you can always remove the excess and eat them…or save for another one!
The Lattice
Now for the part that looks super complicated, but oh so impressive: the lattice top. While it is true it can be a little time consuming, and you have to keep a few things in mind, it is not as unapproachable as you’ve been made to think. Begin by rolling out the second half of your dough. I aim for the same size as my first circle, then, using a pizza cutter, cut it into strips. You want to be careful with the size, about 1/2″ to 3/4″. If you go too small then they may break as you move them repeatedly, if you make them too large you won’t end up with much lattice. Taking the two largest strips in the middle, lay them perpendicular across the top of the pie crust. Then add two more strips on either side of the vertical strip.
Fold the middle strip down on the top and lay another piece horizontally, then repeat on the bottom. You are now going to begin folding back the pieces underneath and laying another across the top of the others, weaving a lattice. It can get challenging to remember where you are, so I always try to do: top, bottom, left, right. That way I know where I am in the lattice pattern. Think about algebra where you learned FOIL: first, outer, inner, last (or don’t if math isn’t a pleasant memory).
Once you have filled in the whole top of your pie you should have something that looks similar to this:
Now you can begin to form the crust. Trim any excess pieces around the outside of the pie, I don’t like to leave any pieces longer than 2″. Then roll the over hang up onto the lip of the pie plate. Once you have it all folded, you can go around the crimp the edges. I like to use my thumb and index finger of both hands to create a pincer and crimp it into the traditional edging.
You did it! A beautifully latticed and crimped pie! Now take your egg and beat it till it’s homogenous and brush it over the top with a pastry brush. This will ensure that you get that glossy deep crust.
Preheat your oven to 400F and then place the pie in the oven on a baking sheet. You really do want to put it on a baking sheet first, otherwise when the apples start to cook and release liquid, it will spill over and burn on the bottom of your oven…yuck. Bake at this temperature for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Keep an eye on your crust, depending on your oven the crimped edges may get too dark, if they do you can always put foil over the top to shield it while the apples continue to cook. Once the 30 minutes are up you can check the doneness of your apples by inserting a toothpick between the layers of lattice. The toothpick should easily go in and out of the apples. When you have reached this point you can remove your apple pie and let it cool for a bit. I like to eat it warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, so scrumptious.
I hope you have learned a few helpful tips for your apple pie baking, and that you enjoy making your own! Please leave comments and photos of your own pies in the description below!
Lattice Topped Apple Pie
Ingredients:
All-Butter Double Pie Crust:
- 20 TBSP butter, unsalted and cut into 1 TBSP pats
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine, then add the cold butter pats. Pulse until you have a sandy texture with some larger pieces still in it. Add the cold water and pulse until it has come together in a ball on one side of the processor. It is okay if it is not all combined, you do not want to overwork the dough. Turn it out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, and place in the refrigerator while you work on the filling.
Apple Pie Filling:
- 8 large or 10 medium apples (Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith and Macintosh, or Cortland are good options)
- 4 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 egg, beaten, to brush crust
Preheat your oven to 400F. Peel, core, and slice your apples. Add them to a large bowl with the flour, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and spices. Stir to combine and set aside while you work on your pie crust.
Roll half your crust out to approximately a 14″ circle (or large enough to leave a few inches extra around the edge of your pie plate. Pour the filling into the pie plate, and smooth so there aren’t any apples sticking upright. Roll out the other half of your dough into the same size circle and follow the instructions above for a lattice top. If you do not want to do a lattice top you can simply lay it over top of your apples, and using a sharp knife, cut a few lines or a pattern into the top to vent the steam from the apples cooking.
Trim any excess (longer than 2″) pie dough from the overhang, and then roll it up together onto the lip of the pie plate. Go around the edges and crimp into a decorative pattern. Brush your crust with the beaten egg.
Place your pie into the preheated oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350F, and continue to bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the apples slides out easily.
Enjoy your apple pie! Serve with vanilla ice cream, or cheddar cheese like my grandmother!
Gwen Hawk says
This is a great tutorial and recipe! Thank you for sharing your expertise! I love the way you write too!
Elise says
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Tamara says
I’m inspired! The pie looks amazing!
Elise says
Thank you!