Perfect Fall Apple Pie
Perfect Fall Apple Pie is one of my two signature dishes.
The other is my very own recipe for Lasagna.
Any meal in my house that has both is a Holiday all its own.
Did you know tart apples make the best apple pies?
The addition of the sugars and spices are already sweet and the tart apples allow the apple taste to shine and burst through with their natural flavor.
If you don’t have a tart apple available then soak your apples in 3 parts water to 1 part lemon juice to leach some of the natural sugars.
The lemon juice also helps prevent your cut apples from turning brown!
I have found the Macintosh apple makes the best pie.
In addition to being a bit tarter the texture isn’t as fibrous.
And the juices aren’t as runny as a Honeycrisp or Paula Red.
The only caveat is they are ready for picking about 10 days later.
But they are worth the wait.
These are the INGREDIENTS You will need:
Pastry:
- 2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
- 4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbs Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1/2 to 1 tsp teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dash ground nutmeg optional, I omit
- 1 tsp apple pie spice optional
- dash of salt
- 6-8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples 6-8 medium
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
These are the INSTRUCTIONS For preparation:
- In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
- Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
- Heat oven to 400°F. With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.
- In large bowl, mix sugar, flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.
- Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Bake 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm if desired.
NOTES
Expert Tips:*For a pretty glazed top crust, brush this—and any other double crust pie—with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar before baking.**Commonly available sweet/tart baking apples: Cortland, Empire, Crispin, Gala, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Jonathan, Spy and MacIntosh. These apples ripen at different times so you should be set from September to November!
This Betty Crocker recipe has been made in my home for more than 40 years and never failed me.
My husband has taken to making the pies the last few years and each one has turned out even better than the last!
My only wish is that I could make a light and flakey crust. But my daughter-in-law does using the recipe below in the grey box.
Do any of you have a tried and true double crust recipe?
Perfect Fall Apple Pie
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
- 4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbs Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1/2 to 1 tsp teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dash ground nutmeg optional, I omit
- 1 tsp apple pie spice optional
- dash of salt
- 6-8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples 6-8 medium
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Instructions
- In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
- Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
- Heat oven to 400°F. With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.
- In large bowl, mix sugar, flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.
- Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Bake 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
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Disclaimer Unless indicated recipes influenced by cookbooks, magazines or family traditions.
It’s hard to beat a great apple pie!
Thank you Donna! Cookies, brownie and pies are always on my counter. Enjoy!
What would fall be without apple pie? This one truly looks perfect, Marilyn. Thanks for sharing your recipe and your tips. Happy fall!
Thank you so much Christie for the kind words. Thanks for always caring. Enjoy your week.
Yumm! I love apple pie and Frank always makes it for my birthday and our anniversary. I never have luck with the crust and although I love to bake and can whip out some decent cakes, pies scare me! We are still searching for the flaky crust too, our recipe is very similar to yours!
Thanks Ana! It is so nice to know someone else that can’t make a crust! I always end up using a Pillsbury one from the dairy counter. When I started using them they were 49 cents a piece! Now over $1.00 but still worth it to me. Jim adds 2 Tbs butter to the cinnamon sugare mix and lets that soak into the bottom crust. Then he adds the 4 slices on top before he covers the pie with the top crust. But shhhh! That’s a family secret! 🙂
Sounds so good, my son’s been asking for apple pie so I can’t wait to try this. Pinning!
Thanks Bernadyn for commenting! I have also been dying for a piece of this pie! I am saving you both a piece. Let me know how he likes it!