Sweet potato pie is my absolute favorite pie. I’ve never made one though. My mom is a sweet potato pie maven and so I feel like it’s one of those things that I just won’t try because I will inherently fall short. Yes, her sweet potato pie is just that good. So because sweet potato pie is off of my to-make list, apple pie it is!
Actually, I stumbled upon making apple pie a few years ago when my neighbor brought over a big bag of apples from his over ambitious tree. I knew Brian and I would not eat all of the apples before they started to go bad so I decided to learn how to make homemade apple pie. I came across a video of John Barricelli on YouTube making a “classic apple pie” that was simple enough. I gave it a whirl and I nailed it on my first attempt! I’ve made it a handful of times now and so this recipe is a keeper. And since Thanksgiving is next week (gasps), I thought I would share.
I do have to say that making dough causes me a bit of anxiety. On the YouTube video, John Barricelli gives three basic rules to follow for a “terrific” pie crust: 1) use quality ingredients, 2) make sure they are very cold, and 3) when you handle dough, less is more. I can manage all three of these rules but I’m still not a fluent dough maker. Does it need more water? Did I sprinkle too much flour on the work surface? Am I touching it too much? I just knead to work on my dough skills more! (Did you catch my little joke?**insert laughing face emoji then girl shrugging emoji**)
Anyway, I made one last night and it was quite tasty. You can’t really tell in the pic but I actually did sprinkle sugar on the crust. I’ve always used granulated sugar. I’ve been meaning to try sanding sugar for that pretty, polished, more dramatic final effect. Here’s the recipe:
Crust
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I like unbleached flour)
2 sticks unsalted butter (cut up in small half inch cubes)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water (add a quarter cup at a time)
Filling
4 pounds (or about 8-10) apples (I use 4 granny smith, 4-5 gala)
1 lemon (juice not zest)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter (cubed)
Egg wash (1 egg + a little water to thin it out)
Directions:
Put the flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor and give it quick pulses just until you see pea sized pieces of butter within the flour. Start adding water, a quarter cup at time between pulses until when you pinch it, it begins to hold a shape. Side note: You may still see some butter pieces in it.
If you were to immediately roll the dough out, you may have a little resistance from the gluten that was developed. So wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour. Take a piece of plastic wrap, lay it on your counter top or work area, and eye out roughly half of the mixture. Using the sides of the plastic bring all of the dough up into the center of the plastic (you’re not trying to touch the dough itself) until you have something that looks like a thick pancake or disc. Do the same with remaining dough.
When you are ready to roll out your dough, sprinkle your work surface with a little bit of flour to help keep it from sticking. The dough is nice and cold so work as fast as possible. Rotate your dough, don’t move your pin. That’s going to help you have a nice uniform thickness. Handle the dough as little as possible. If you have an offset spatula, that really helps to free up the dough without using more flour on the bottom. You want to make sure your dough is about an inch and a half wider all around than the pie dish. Place the dough into the pie dish.
For the top of the pie you want to make sure you roll out enough to cover all of the apples and have a little bit of an overhang. Place this piece of dough on a parchment lined, rimless baking sheet so that you can easily remove it later. Refrigerate both pieces of dough while you prepare your apples.
Peel all of your apples, cut them in half, core them all, then slice them into quarter inch thick slices. To prevent them from discoloring and to add a bit of flavor, squeeze two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (just the juice, not the zest) over the apples and give it a quick toss. You want to coat all of your apples with lemon juice before adding your other ingredients. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon (spread it all around because as soon as the cinnamon hits those apples it does stick a bit), and salt. Toss all the apples so that they are all coated. Carefully put all of the apples into the pie dish. Pour any remaining liquid over the apples (that is going to help thicken the pie). To finish the pie, take the 2 tablespoons of cubed butter and place it all over the apples.
Spread a little bit of egg wash on the edges of the bottom pie crust for sealing. Carefully place the second rolled out piece of dough over the top. Take a paring knife to go around the pie and trim it. Now you can crimp the edges of the pie. Push the dough between the thumb and index finger of your outside hand to form a U or V shape. Evenly coat the pie crust with the rest of the egg wash. For the final touch sprinkle sugar over the crust. Cut some slits in the center of the pie for venting.
Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees then 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees.
Your pie will be gorgeous and smell yummy but don’t cut it just yet, let it cool!
P.S. Perfect roast chicken, the best macaroni and cheese recipe ever, and easy, tasty, string beans! Happy eating next week!
