A perfect French tart is a thing of beauty. An American pie is homely, and rustic-looking. But done well, pie is so delicious that we’re happy to eat pie without ice cream; so comforting that a double crust is worth the calories; so tempting, we break off ‘mouse bites’ of crust from the edges to eat on the spot.
‘Pi Day’ is Friday, March 14th. (Get it, 3.14?!) Between now and then, I challenge us to practice our pie and pastry skills. A month before, I’ll invite home cooks to participate in the Great American Pie Bake, sharing our best pie recipes and our best tips for producing tender, flaky crusts.
To gauge how many apples to use, fill the pie pan with a single layer of whole apples. If the apples are taller than the pie pan, remove one. That’s enough! Taste for sweetness varies too. With just 1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar, intense apple flavor emerges. However, many Americans prefer a sweet pie made with a generous cup of sugar. Cinnamon is classic but ginger or nutmeg, or a blend, work too. Use cornstarch or potato starch for thickening, avoiding the unappealing gumminess of flour. Fill the unbaked pastry just higher than the top edge of the pie pan. Raw sugar’s large, golden crystals create a lovely sparkly top. To prevent a raw bottom crust, I’ve learned to bake pies for 20 minutes on the bottom rack, then switch to the center rack for the remaining time.
AMERICAN APPLE PIE
Time to table: 2-1/2 hours
Serves 8
- 1 batch chilled Flaky Tender Pie Crust or dough for a double-crust 9”-10” pie
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Baking apples (see TIPS), peeled and sliced (5 - 6 cups of sliced apples)
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup white or brown sugar (see TIPS)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (see TIPS)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (see TIPS)
- Egg wash of 1 egg yolk & 1 tablespoon water, whisked
- Raw (turbinado) sugar, optional (see TIPS)
Preheat oven to 375F.
Squeeze juice into a large bowl. Add apples as they’re sliced, tossing to coat with juice to prevent browning. Toss sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch into apples. Roll bottom crust and arrange in pie pan, patching if needed, letting rough edge hang over the side. Refrigerate.
Roll top crust. Fill bottom crust with apple mixture (see TIPS). Gently smooth the fruit, tucking slices that stick out. Arrange top crust over filling. With a knife, slice off excess crust, leaving about a half-inch beyond the pan’s edge. To form the crust, tuck the outer edge under itself and gently press to seal, then gently crimp between thumb and forefinger to form a decorative edge. Brush top (but not the edge) with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 45 minutes (see TIPS) or until top crust is golden brown and juices inside are bubbling. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pie! Pie! Pie!
For pastry tips and photo illustrations, see How to Make Flaky Tender Pie Crust.
For the recipe for pie crust in traditional recipe format, see Flaky Tender Pie Crust.
My favorite variation of this simple apple pie recipe is to substitute homemade butterscotch for the brown sugar (for sweetness) and the cornstarch (for thickening). I make it while peeling the apples, watching carefully. My friend Elise from the website Simply Recipes has a great photo tutorial on how to make butterscotch.
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Your Comments:
Elsie from Springfield
Angie from Toronto
Gregg said, "She nailed the 'flaky & tender'..." And we had our first quiet moment of the day; we all had our mouths full and were savoring the apple pie.
Sarah suggested we tell the not-here-yet family members & guests that you didn't show up (so we could eat it all). And that is a very un-Sarah thing to say!
Lizzie looked disconcerted when we said we should divide them each into equal eighths.
It was just such a fun and very welcome surprise.
Many, many, many thanks!!!
Happy Pie People