This last summer, a sweet friend of mine requested that I make a video showing her how to make an apple pie. The autumn breeze is in the air, the leaves are changing, and we saw a flock of geese flying south, so today is the day for a delicious apple pie. As a side note, if you are new to making pies like my friend is, you can always use a store-bought pie crust instead of making it from scratch. I did this for a few years until I was more confident in my baking skills. Honestly, I'm still not the best when it comes to making pie crust. But it's always delicious in the end.
Ingredients:
For the pie crust
300g (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
142g (10 tablespoons) cold butter
1 teaspoon salt
6-10 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
8-10 green apples (about 3 pounds), peeled and sliced
the juice of 1 lemon
213g (1 cup) brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the crumb topping
113g (1 stick) butter, melted until browned
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
180g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
60g (3/4 cup) rolled oats
106g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
Method:
First, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and have a 9 inch pie pan ready.
Next, make the pie crust. Add the flour and salt in a large bowl along with half of the cold butter and pinch the butter into the flour until well combined. the mixture should look crumbly. you can keep the other half of the butter in the fridge while you do this. Now, add the other half of the butter and mix until it's the size of small peas. Then, add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing it with a fork. you want to add enough water for the dough to stick together when you pinch it but not be soggy. Turn it out onto a flat surface and bring it together using your hands. wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for half an hour.
In the meantime, make the filling and crumb topping. Add the apple slices, sugar, spices, lemon juice and flour to a large bowl, mix together and set aside. For the crumb topping, place everything in a bowl, mix together and set aside.
Now it's time to assemble the pie. Unwrap the pie dough and place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out. Try rolling from the center outward. If the dough starts to crack, don't worry about it, it's easy to patch once it's in the pie pan. Next, tumble all the apples into the crust. You can use your hands to get them all to fit on the pile. Lastly, use your hands to pat the crumb topping on.
I tried placing my pie dish inside a cast iron pan this time. It's helps keep the bottom of the pie crust from getting soggy. It worked well and I'll try aging with my next pie.
Place the pie inside the pre-heated oven and bake for 60 minuets. I also put a cookie sheet under the pie to catch the drippings. After 60 minutes, turn the pie around, to promote even browning, and bake another 30 minuets. If the pie is getting too brown, placed aluminum foil on top. The pie should be bubbling around the edges when it's done. Your whole house will smell like Thanksgiving morning!
I make three pies every year for Thanksgiving, apple, pecan and of course pumpkin. I'm always excited to see which pie gets eaten first!
I sure hope you give this apple pie with crumb topping a try this Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's always a crowd pleaser! If you are looking for more recipes like this one or you want to stay in the loop and never miss another blog post,
Come on you know you want to!
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