ALL AMERICAN APPLE PIE AND FLAKY PIE CRUST

IN THIS BLOG POST, LEARN HOW TO:

• Make apple pie filling
• Make awesome flakey pie crust
• Freeze pie for later if needed
• Bake pie - pie dish vs. cast iron

​
OVERVIEW

Makes two double crust 9” pies

Ingredients for Pie filling

• ​about 18 FIRM tart apples (i.e. Granny Smith, Pippin) medium size to large
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice of one lemon
• 6 tbsp butter

Ingredients for Pie Crust

• ​4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sweetener like stevia or sugar
• 28 tbsp of butter (3 1/2 sticks of butter)
• 6 tbsp of shortening
• 1 lightly beaten egg
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinigar
• about 1/2 cup cold water ​

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LET'S GET INTO IT

1. If you are baking your pies now, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. If you are going to freeze your pies to use later, decide if you want to later bake in glass pie dishes or cast iron pans and line with plastic wrap.  Here you can see I'm doing both glass and cast iron.

Two reasons why I line with plastic wrap:
1.  I don’t want to put cold frozen dishes or pans in the hot oven and risk them exploding or cracking.
2.  I don't want to give up my dishes to the freezer. So here’s how i get around these two issues.

Get your butter and cube it up.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Now put the cubed butter in the frig to keep cook until ready to use.

Measure out 4 cups of flour by spoonful and then level off.  Don't pack the flour into the measuring cup.

Add about a tsp of salt.

Add sweetner. You can add sugar, coconut sugar, stevia, etc. I’m adding 3 packets of Truvia.

Mix dry ingredients.

Add 28 tbsp of butter or 3 1/2 sticks of butter.

MIX UNTIL THE BUTTER IS WELL BLENDED WITH THE FLOUR.

MIX IN 6 TBLS OF SHORTENING IN THE SAME WAY YOU MIXED THE BUTTER.

lIGHTLY BEAT ONE EGG.  TURN ON BLENDER AND POUR IN WHILE MIXING. MIX QUICKLY UNTIL JUST BLENDED.

tURN ON THE PROCESSOR AGAIN AND QUICKLY ADD 1 TBSP OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER MIX.   

THE EGG AND APPLE CIDER MIGHT MAKE THE MIXTURE STICK TO THE SIDES.  jUST SCRAP THE DOUGH AWAY FROM THE SIDES.  

GET ABOUT A 1/2 CUP OF COLD WATER.  tURN ON THE PROCESSOR AND START ADDING WATER 1 TBSP AT A TIME JUST UNTIL THE DOUGH STARTS TO FORM A BALL.  aS SOON AS THE DOUGH STARTS TO PULL AWAY FROM THE SIDES OF THE PROCESSOR, STOP ADDING WATER AND TURN OFF.  tRY TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF WATER ADDED.

hERE IS MY DOUGH.  iT JUST BARELY STARTED TO FORM A BALL.

tURN THE PROCESSOR CONTAINER UPSIDE DOWN, BLADE AND ALL ON FLOURED SURFACE.  REMOVE THE BLADE FROM THE DOUGH.  bE CAREFUL  AS THE BLADE IS VERY SHARP.  

KNEAD THE DOUGH INTO A LOAF LIKE SHAPE.  KNEAD UNTIL JUST FORMED.  ADD SMALL INCREMENTS OF FLOUR IF THE DOUGH FEELS TOO STICKY TO HANDLE.  

DIVIDE INTO FOUR EQUAL SECTIONS.

TAKE TWO OF THE SECTIONS AND FORM INTO CIRCULAR SHAPES. WRAP IN PLASTIC WRAP AND PLACE IN FRIDGE.

FORM REMAINING TWO SECTIONS INTO CIRCULAR SHAPES AND THE ROLL EACH OUT LARGE ENOUGH TO COVER AND CURVE UP ON THE SIDES OF A PIE DISH OF YOUR CHOICE. MAKE SURE YOU USE SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF FLOUR ON ROLLING THE SURFACE TO PREVENT THE DOUGH FROM STICKING WHEN YOU ROLL IT OUT.

SINCE I MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF FLOUR I USE WHEN I ROLL OUT MY DOUGH (TOO MUCH FLOUR CAN MAKE YOUR CRUST HARD) MY DOUGH WILL STICK TO THE SURFACE A BIT.  SO I USE A FLAT SPATULA TO LOOSEN THE DOUGH FROM THE SURFACE.  THE SPATULA IS LIKELY NOT TO GET TO THE VERY CENTER.  GO ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ROLLED DOUGH TO LOOSEN.

HERE’S THE TRICKY PART. FOLD THE DOUGH LOOSELY IN HALF SO IT IS EASIER TO PUT IN THE PIE DISH/PAN. TROUBLE SHOOT: IF YOU ARE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS PART, IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN NEVER BE A PIE EXPERT AND FOLLOW IN BETTY CROCKER’S FOOTSTEPS, HOLD UP-THERE IS HOPE. IT COULD MEAN YOUR KITCHEN IS TOO HOT AND SO YOUR DOUGH IS HEATING UP TO FAST MAKING IT HARD TO HANDLE. SIMPLY PUT YOUR DOUGH IN THE FRIG TO COOL
JT DOWN SOME AND COOL OFF YOUR KITCHEN. OR IT MIGHT BE THAT YOU ADDED A BIT TOO MUCH WATER. JUST KNEAD IN MORE FLOUR. DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO THAT. IT IS A PROCESS AND THE MORE YOU MAKE PIE DOUGH THE MORE AWESOME YOU WILL BECOME AT IT. BELIEVE ME, IF I CAN DO THIS, SO CAN YOU!

PLACE FOLDED DOUGH IN DISH COVERING HALF OF IT. THIS HAS TO BE A SWEEPING MOTION. YOU DON’T REALLY GET ANOTHER CHANCE WITH THIS IF YOUR DOUGH IS ACTING UP.

uNFOLD THE DOUGH AND...bREath.   You did it!

Shape the dough into the dish.

HERE'S THE CAST IRON DISH. I HAD TO STRETCH MINE A BIT because i was not use to the depth of the pan verses a pie dish.

Peel the apples and core.

CUT INTO CHUNKS. DON’T WORRY IF YOU DID NOT GET EVERY PIECE OF SKIN OFF.

IN ANOTHER BOWL, START MIXING DRY INGREDIENTS FOR THE PIE FILLING.  Put in 1/2 cup of Corn Starch.

Add 1 cup of coconut SUGAR.  

ADD ABOUT A TSP OF NUTMEG AND TWO TSP OF CINNAMON. I HAPPEN TO HAVE A LITTLE GRATER SO I GRATE MY NUTMEG AS FRESH IS BEST. IF I HAVE TIME AND CINNAMON STICKS ON HAND, I toss them IN A SPICE GRINDER AS WELL. OTHerWise FEEL FREE TO JUST USE PRE-GrOUND SPICES. YOU CAN ALSO ADD A TOUCH OF GROUND GINGER.

Here is the ground nutmeg.

ADD A BIT OF SALT. IF YOUR COCONUT SUGAR HAS CLUMPS LIKE MINE, JUST MASH THEM DOWN A BIT. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT.

GRATE Rind OF ONE LEMON. THIS GIVES A BIT OF “FRESHNESS” TO YOUR PIE BUT BE CAREFUL; A LITTLE LEMON RIND GOES A LONG WAY.  update:  i no longer use the rind.  i find that the juice is better because it adds a soft lemon flavor whereas the rind tends to be bitter.

POUR ALL the APPLE PIECES INTO THE DRY INGREDIENT BOWL.

Get you hands in there!

Divide apples up into each dish/pan.

CUT UP 3 TBsp of butter FOR EACH PIE.  put the pieces ON TOP (I OFTEN FORGET THIS PART).

GET THE OTHER TWO DOUGH PORTIONS OUT OF the FRIDGE AND ROLL OUT ONTO FLOURED SURFACE.

place the remaining dough on top of the pie.

NOW THE FUN PART! JUST LIKE WHEN YOU WERE KID PLAYING WITH PLAY DOUGH 🙂. MAKE A RIBBON EDGE. THIS IS WHEN MY KIDS ASK IF THEY CAN HELP. HECK NO I THINK TO MYSELF. THIS IS THE FUN PART, but OF COURSE I LET THEM.

SO IF YOU ARE FREEZING IT IS NOW TIME TO PUT THESE BAD BOYS IN THE FREEZER. WAIT ABOUT AN HOUR AND POP THEM OUT OF YOUR DISH/PAN (THEY SHOULD JUST HOLD THEIR FORM). FINISH WRAPPING IN PLASTIC WRAP AT LEAST TWO LAYERS AND THEN IN TINFOIL, LABEL AND PUT A 2 MONTH EXPIRATION DATE (YEP YOU HEARD RIGHT, NOT THE DATE YOU MADE IT BUT THE DATE IT EXPIRES, THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE PIE IS DUE TO BE GOBBLED UP WHEN YOUR RUMMAGING THROUGH THE FREEZER—NO FUTURE MATH REQUIRED 🤔) AND PLACE BACK INTO THE FREEZER. ALSO PUT THE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL SO YOU DON’T GET A CALL FROM YOUR KIDS WHILE YOUR DRIVING ASKING HOW TO COOK THE FROZEN PIE

• ​PREHEAT OVEN TO 450
• REMOVE ALL WRAPPING (TIP: IF THE PLASTIC WRAP IS STICKING TO THE THE PIE quickly run THROUGH WATER)
• PLACE PIE IN DESIGNATED PIE DISH (THE ONE YOU FROZE IT IN)
• BRUSH EGG WHITE ON TOP AND DUST WITH SUGAR
• WHEN OVEN REACHES 450 PUT the pie in FOR 25 MINUTES
• REDUCE OVEN TO 375 AND COOK FOR 40 TO 50 MORE MINUTES.
• YOU MAY NEED TO LOOSELY COVER WITH FOIL TO PREVENT THE TOP FROM BURNING.
• YOU WILL KNOW YOUR PIE IS DONE WHEN THE JUICES BUBBLE UP TO THE TOP AND THE APPLES ARE SOFT WHEN PIERCED WITH A FORK.
• THEN LORD HAVE MERCY, IT’S PIE TIME! DON’T FORGET THE VANILLA ICE CREAM.

IF BAKING right away, THEN I HOPE YOU DIDn't line YOUR DISHES/PAN WITH PLASTIC WRAP 🤪. SEPARATE AN EGG AND BRUSH EGG WHITES ON TOP OF PIES. SPRINKLE WITH A LITTLE SUGAR (YES REAL SUGAR FOR THIS PART). PUT IN the oven AT 425 FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES THEN TURN DOWN TO 375. KEEP AN EYE ON THE PIE. YOU MAY WANT TO LAY SOME TINFOIL ON TOP AFTER WHILE TO KEEP THE GOLDEN BROWN LOOK FROM GOING TO THE BURNT LOOK. MINIMUm COOK
TIME IS 45 MINUTES TOTAL BUT IT COULD BE MORE. WHEN THE JUICES START TO BUBBLE TO THE TOP AND APPLES ARE SOFT WHEN PIERCED WITH A FORK THEN YOU KNOW YOUR LOVELY PIE IS DONE! LET it COOL QUITE A BIT BEFORE YOU CUT INTO IT. I KNOW IT’S HARD TO WAIT.

YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE THAT I COULD NOT WAIT to eat pie. AFTER CUTTING UP SWEET APPLES, SMELLING NUTMEG AND CINNAMON, DOTTING WITH BUTTER, I JUST HAD TO MAKE TWO MORE PIES (mini versions) AND COOK THOSE BAD BOYS RIGHT AWAY. I HAD THREE SLICES THAT NIGHT. I COULD NOT WAIT TO TEST MY THEORY THAT THE CAST IRON WOULD YIELD A BETTER CRUST THAN GLASS. ANSWER...DRUM-ROLL...YEP THE CAST IRON OUT DID THE GLASS DISH. THE CRUST WAS COOKED THROUGH TOP AND BOTTOM. NO SOGGY DOUGH ON THE BOTTOM. I WILL NEVER DO GLASS AGAIN. IT’S CAST IRON ALL THE WAY BABY.

IF YOUR PIE TURNS OUT SUPER DELICIOUS TAKE FULL CREDIT AND IF IT DOES NOT, BLAME IT ON your dog, your cat, your kids,...or this blog 😬. BUT IT SHOULD TURN OUT YUMMY🙂