Apple Pie
Harvest is in full swing here ’round these parts. The last of the tomatoes are being hauled from the fields to the cannery across town. The combines are parked at the edges of the corn fields, just waiting to tear through the rows. Butterflies are dancing around in the alfalfa fields that will soon receive their final cutting. Olive branches are hanging heavy with fruit, luring drivers to pull over on the side of the road to gather as many as they can. The first of the winter wheat is beginning to emerge from the soil. Let’s celebrate the bounty with a delicious apple pie!
Apple Pie
Makes 1 6″ pie
Ingredients
- FOR THE CRUST:
- 5 ounces (1 cup) unbleached flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3-4 tablespoons cold water
- FOR THE FILLING:
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple
- 1 medium sweet apple, such as Gala
- ¾ teaspoon orange zest
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons milk, for brushing on crust
Instructions
- First, make the crust: Stir together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the cold, diced butter and blend it using a pastry cutter or two knives.
- Once the butter is thoroughly incorporated and is the size of peas, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Once 10 minutes has elapsed, remove the flour mixture from the fridge and add the apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of ice water. Stir this mixture together with a fork until it comes together. Add more water as needed. Don’t add more than 5 tablespoons of water.
- Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Have ready a 6-7” metal pie tin and preheat the oven to 425°.
- Peel and thinly slice the apples. Cut the slices in half so that you have apple slices about 2” long. Place the apples into a bowl and toss with the orange zest, cinnamon, allspice and sugar. Allow to set while you roll out the crust.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half, but allow slightly more dough for the bottom crust. Roll out the bottom crust into a circle 1” larger than the diameter of the pie pan. Drape the crust over the pie tin and gently fit it up the sides—do not stretch the dough.
- Now, roll out the top into a 7” circle. Have ready on the side. Pour the apple filling into the bottom crust, pressing the mixture down firmly to eliminate air gaps. Lay the top crust gently over the apples. Pinch the seams together prettily and cut two slits in the center of the crust for ventilation. Brush the pie lightly with milk and sprinkle extra sugar on top.
- Bake on the lowest oven rack for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350° and move the pie to the middle rack to continue baking another 15-20 minutes, until filling is bubbling. Let cool at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream.
This recipe makes me so happy that I went apple picking yesterday!
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I’ll only share if you share some of this! Haha. No, actually, I can not share with you…. my husband ate all the cookies in only 2 days! Ha. They were quite tasty… and I helped eat a few.
I would love to try to make these cookies in a smaller batch though. They were really fun to decorate. Give it a shot!
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this recipe sounds awesome:) cant wait to try it out. thank you.
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Your apple pie truly looks beautiful and flaky. There’s something about cider vinegar that has so many wonderful benefits adding it to various foods and desserts. Never imagined adding it in the pie crust. Will save this recipe, and try it. Thanks for sharing!
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