Homemade apple pie is a cozy classic that brings the heartwarming taste of home to every bite. Made with your favorite apples, a sprinkle of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon, it’s the perfect blend of sweet and spice. Wrapped in a golden, flaky crust that melts in your mouth, this pie is holiday bliss served warm and fresh from the oven!
- Prep: 70 minutes
- Cook: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Total: 5 hours, 40 minutes
- Servings: 1 (9-inch) pie
Equipment
- 1 (9-inch) glass or stainless-steel pie dish
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup COLD salted butter
- ½ cup icy cold water
- Ingredients · 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice from half a lemon, 2 tablespoons
- 5 pounds of mixed apples, 5 pounds before peeling and coring (Our Favorites are Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, or Cosmic Crisp)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Tablespoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk, for brushing on pie
- 1 tablespoon beaten egg, optional, for brushing on pie
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar, for topping pie
Instructions
Make the filling:
- Zest 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel into a skillet.
- Add the juice from half the lemon to the skillet, about 2 tablespoons.
- Use a potato peeler or apple peeler to peel the apples. Slice the apples into 1/8-inch pieces. We peel one apple at a time, then stop and slice it, add it to the lemon juice so they don’t go brown, and then move on to peeling the next apple. Stir the apples in the pan occasionally to coat everything with lemon juice.
- Once you have peeled all the apples and sliced them in the pan, set it over medium heat on the stove.
- Add 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 5 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom. Stir it together gently so you don’t break all the apples.
- Once the mixture is all moistened and you don’t see patches of flour or cinnamon, set a timer for 20 minutes. Cover the mixture with a lid and stir the mixture every 3 minutes or so; keep stirring so it doesn’t, but replace the lid each time. Cook for 20 minutes, until the apples are fork tender but still hold their shape. The apples will not soften more while baking in the oven.
- If your apples start to stick to the pan, add 1 tablespoon water as needed; use sparingly.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- Transfer the apple pie filling—don’t forget that yummy caramel—to a cookie sheet (make sure and spread evenly) to cool. Make sure they are completely cooled; you can speed up the process by popping them in the freezer or fridge.
- Place a baking sheet in the center rack of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
- Roll out our dough; be careful not to handle too much! Place in the pie dish with the excess hanging over the edges. Fill the pie dish with all that delish apple pie filling. Top your pie with the other pie crust; you can make it as fancy as you would like to do a lattice crust, or just do a whole pie crust; you can even use cookie cutters to cut out shapes in the crust.
- Fold the edges in and crimp by pinching the edges with your finger tips. If you did the whole crust on the top, make sure to vent your pie by poking holes in the top a few times with a sharp knife.
- If you want a really flaky crust, place back in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes; otherwise, brush the crust with milk and beaten egg and then sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Place the chilled pie onto the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The crust on the edge should be turning light brown.
- Meanwhile, get a square of tin foil that is the same size as your pie. Fold it in half, then in half again. Cut out the center. Open it up again. You should have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center.
- Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Remove the pie from the oven and place the foil on top. Loosely crimp it around the crust on the edge. This will protect it from burning.
- Don’t forget to lower the oven temperature to 350. Place the pie back on the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 350 for 40-45 more minutes.
- You will know the pie is done when the edges are brown and the center is light golden brown. If you did a lattice crust, you should see the filling bubbling away nicely.
- Let the pie cool on a wire rack for about 4 hours. You have to wait for it to cool to room temperature to get the right texture for the filling.
- Guess what step 20 is? ENJOY!
