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Perfect Apple Pie from Scratch

Apple pie from scratch that slices beautifully with amazingly flaky crusts, spiced apple filling that holds its shape, and is perfect for any holiday!
Total Time3 hours 58 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 -10 servings
Calories: 456kcal
Author: Britt

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoon unsalted butter chilled and cubed
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening or leaf-lard chilled
  • 5-7 tablespoon ice water

Filling

  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon ground
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ground
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 4 lbs apples peeled, chopped into ¼ inch slices
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon apple cider

Baking

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon cream or milk
  • 2 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Instructions

Make the Crust

  • In a large bowl, whisk together salt and flour. Add butter and lard/shortening.
  • With a pastry cutter, or with a fork and knife, cut the fats and flour together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Most of the fat should be the size of large peas, and larger sized bits of fat are encouraged.
  • Using a tablespoon measure, pour one tablespoon of ice water at a time in and stir with a large rubber spatula. Stir after each addition of water. Stop adding water when the dough begins to clump together.
  • Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. It should slightly, slightly tacky and come together easily. Form the dough into a ball, then divide into two halves. Flatten each half into 1 inch thick discs. Wrap each dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour (but they can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days).

Make the Filling

  • In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice, and flour. Add apples and toss with a wooden spoon.
  • Cover pot and cook the apples, stirring occaisionally, making sure the sugar doesn't burn and the liquid is bubbling. The apples should begin to soften in 10 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and apple cider. Pour into the apple mixture and turn down temperature to low. Let cook for another 5 minutes, or until apples have softened and become a little tender.
  • Let apple filling cool for one hour to overnight before assembling apple pie.

To Assemble

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Remove one pie crust disk from fridge, unwrap it, and place on a work surface. Roll out the disk from the center outward, lifting crust slightly and rotating it 90 degrees after every few rolls. Lift and dust underside with flour every so often to prevent sticking. Roll dough out to be about 11 to 12 inches larger than your 9 inch pie dish and about ⅛" thick.
  • With your rolling pin, roll pie crust off the work surface to loosely wrap around the pin and carefully roll out into the pie dish. Trim the edges to ½ inch beyond the lip of your pie dish, then turn the edge under to create the rim. Press the rim against the pan to form an even edge. Use scraps to fill in any tears, thin spots, or holes in the pie crust. Refrigerate pie crust for 15 minutes.
  • Remove crust from the freezer and cover the crust with a large piece of parchment paper. Fill the parchment paper with dried beans or pie weights, then cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil to prevent browning. Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the parchement paper and pie weights and bake for 15 more minutes. The crust will be dry and won't be soggy once pie is baked. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
  • Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
  • While baked crust is cooling, roll out second pie crust on a floured work surface.
  • Add apple filling to the pie dish, making sure to compact the apples, as air pockets will cause a gap inbetween the apples and crust. Place the rolled out second crust over over the top, then flute the edges with your fingers to seal the top crust to the bottom.
  • Create egg wash with egg and cream, then brush egg wash over the crust. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the crust as well. Using a sharp knife, cut some slits into the top crust to give steam a place to escape.
  • Place pie on a baking sheet, then place in oven on the middle shelf. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat back to 375 degrees F and continue to bake for 40 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the filling bubbly.
  • Let pie cool completely before serving, about 4 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal