We went apple picking last weekend and are still swimming in Cortlands. We’ve made apple butter, apple chips, apple crisp, but the apple pie — that was the stand out crowd pleaser. When I was looking for a recipe, I rummaged through a bunch of more complicated approaches online (sautéing the apples first, then letting them cool; making a kind of cinnamon-sugary roux on the stovetop, etc.), but was looking for your basic, super delicious apple pie recipe. So, I went old school, put my computer down, picked up my How to Cook Everything cookbook and made apple pie a la Mark Bittman. Let me tell you, he did not disappoint. This will definitely be my go-to apple pie recipe from now on. A little vanilla ice cream and pow! Fall amazingness in your mouth.
Need a pie crust recipe? Here you go!
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- a pinch of salt
- 6 apples (Cortland or McIntosh are good cooking apples) peeled, cored, and cut into ~ 1/2 inch slices
- 1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1.5 Tbs. cornstarch
- 2 Tbs. butter, cut into pieces
- Milk for brushing the crust
- One double-recipe pie crust
- 1. Roll out the bottom of the pie crust and place in a 9-11 inch pie pan.
- 2. In a large bowl, mix sugars, spices, and salt together. Add apples and lemon juice and toss until fully mixed.
- 3. Pour apples into pie crust, piling apples higher in the center. Dot with the butter.
- 4. Roll out your top crust and place over apples. Press bottom and top crusts together with fingers or a fork or whatever decorative method strikes your fancy.
- 5. Place pie in refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- 6. Place pie on a cookie sheet and brush the top lightly with milk, sprinkle with sugar. Cut a few 2-inch long vent holes in the top crust to let steam escape.
- 7. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.
- 8. Cool a bit before serving.
