This is the first pie I ever made from scratch, meaning I finally made a pie with home-made pie crust! I have to say that I am quite proud of how fine looking and great tasting it came out – crisp & flaky crust, moist apples coated with heavenly brown goo. And now I see why people say once you’ve made your own pie crust, you won’t be able to go back to store bought ones. I also see why apple pies are typically made with a top crust of one form or another. The top crust ensures that the apples stay moist, protecting them from becoming burnt and dry. And apparently “apple pie spice” is just a mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, so that’s one less spice to worry about keeping stocked if we already have the other three! I’d always been intimidated by pie making and never understood the term “as easy as apple pie” – well, I guess it is quite simple to make. Just a bit messy when dealing with the dough. Check out the Pie Crust recipe for step-by-step instructions on how to make the crust!
Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the filling
- 3 baking apples e.g. Cortland, Braeburn, Rome
- 3 crisp eating apples e.g. Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Fuji
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the crust
- 2 10-inch crust pie dough link to recipe in Notes section below
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Prepare the pie filling
- Peel and core all of the apples and cut them into 1/4-inch slices. Toss the apples into a large bowl with the lemon juice and coat to prevent apples from turning color.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and cornstarch. Mix with a spatula to coat all of the apples evenly.
Assemble the pie
- See Pie Crust recipe (link in Notes section below), and follow the instructions for full top crust.
Bake the pie
- Place the pie on the lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until the top crust has browned, about 50 minutes.
Cool the pie
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- Store any remaining pie in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.
