Apple Pie

One of the main cultural icons of America is apple pie. This hasn't always made sense to me; I tend to relate apple pie to the Dutch. My historian friend tells me it has something to do with the fact apples have been a main export for a long time and that it is the state fruit for a various states. I read online that the phrase originated during the WWII era and has to do with the phrase "easy as pie". I'll let someone else figure out how apple pie is American and I'll just bake the pies and write about my grandma's recipes.

My grandma always made pies. I don't think she ever needed a reason to make a pie. Family dinner? Pie. Holiday? Pie. Pot luck at church? Pie. Someone's birthday? Pie. If you were craving a pie, she'd make it for you. Apple pie was the most common pie that she made, so that is where I'm starting with the pie recipes.

I started making pies a few years ago, but never got the hang of it and ventured off into cake decorating. I have made a peach pie annually and the occasional chocolate pie, but nothing else. Now that I'm just left with a stack of recipes and no one to make pie for me, I've restarted my quest to make a perfect pie (or at least one amazingly edible!).

Apple pie can be time consuming to prepare, so I doubled the recipe and made two pies at once (the images will reflect this). The extra pie can be wrapped in freezer paper and frozen. Just remember to add 10 or so minutes to the bake time when baking the frozen pie!

Apple Pie (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
6 C thinly sliced baking apples (approximately 2 pounds)
1/3 C brown sugar (packed)
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/4 C flour
3/4 t cinnamon
dash of salt
2 T butter
2 crust pastry for a 9" pie

If you are using a pie crust recipe that needs to chill, make the pastry dough first. (I will have a post in the future on different types of pie crust.)

Wash, peel, and slice the apples. Place the apple slices in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugars, flour, and cinnamon (and salt). Add this sugar mixture to the apples and stir well. If the sugar mixture doesn't seem to combine with the apples, let it sit for 5 minutes and mix it again. The sugar will bring out the juices in the apples and make combining easier.

Roll out the pastry dough and line the pie plate with a layer of crust. Fill the pie plate with the sliced and sugared apples.

Slice up the butter and dot the top of the apples with the butter slices. Roll out another layer of pastry dough and place it on top, press the edges of the two dough layers together. Use a fork to poke holes in the top layer of dough.

Bake the assembled pie at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. The pie is done when the edge of the crust is brown and the apples are bubbling (if you can see them). Let the pie cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Note: You can also bake the pie at 425 for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes. Both ways will result in a nicely baked pie. If you are worried about the pie bubbling over in some way, place it on a cookie sheet lined with foil.

2nd Note: Remember to put the butter on top of the apples before sealing the pastry dough and placing it in the oven. If you realize that you forgot to add the butter when the pie has been in the oven for 8 minutes, the pastry will be warm and sticky making it difficult to add the butter to the apples. It will also make your pie look not as pretty. Yes, this is from personal experience...