My siblings are the only people who have seen me start to finish and understand all my stranger qualities. Like why I repeat stories constantly (my sister does it, too). And they share my same favorite snack–tortilla chips with shredded cheese on them. So when I went to visit my sister this weekend, we baked our favorite pie. A double crust apple pie. We had big plans to pick apples at an orchard, but we ended up just buying apples at the store. Easy is good, too.
My sister, Katie, and I both share the same love for pie. It’s definitely my favorite dessert, and something that’s really pretty easy to make! A bunch of fruit thrown into a bowl with spices and sugar and a really good crust recipe is all you need to make a standup pie. Here’s how you make it!
Start by making your crust. I always use Joy the Baker’s Pie Crust Recipe because it’s the best! This will make one double crust pie or if you want to double it you can make two pies! I measure the flour into a large mixing bowl. I add salt and sugar and mix together with a wooden spoon. To that mixture, I grate in super cold butter in a box cheese grater! Two sticks! This helps the butter incorporate itself into the crust easier.
Mix it together with your fingertips and add cold water a tablespoon at a time, incorporating into a dough ball by pressing and kneading in the bowl. Once you have a shaggy dough, knead it for a couple minutes on the countertop with some flour to make it adhere to itself. Then cut in half, pat into two thick discs and cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake.
Then I had Katie peel about 2 pounds of apples and core them. She sliced them thinly into about 1/4 inch thick wedges and sprinkled them with lemon juice to keep from browning. Then we added cinnamon, cornstarch, and brown sugar. Mix together the apple slices so they’re coated in the spices and juices.
Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick circle and place the rolled dough into a nine inch pie pan, pinching around the sides and edges gently so it sticks. Then add the apple mixture in a small mountain in the center.
Roll out the remaining disc of dough the same as the first and cut using a ravioli or pizza cutter into 1 1/2 inch strips. Cover the top of the pie vertically with the strips, leaving no room between them. Trim the edges and reuse that dough. Roll out the additional scraps again and cut them into strips. Cover the top horizontally with these one at a time, weaving between the vertical strips and leaving no room between.
Trim the remaining scraps of the edges of the pie. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges of the pie so they stick to the pan nicely.
Now you can brush the top of the pie with a whisked egg for color. Then bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until top is browned and the pie filling is bubbly.
I love this super tightly woven lattice. There’s nothing more fun than baking with family! See the full recipe below.
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, cold
- 6 tbsp cold water
- 1.5 lbs honeycrisp apples
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 heaped tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg, whisked
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and salt and stir together with a wooden spoon. Using a box cheese grater, grate the cold butter into the bowl. Stir the butter in and add the water, stirring. Use your hands to break up the butter into the flour mixture, forming a shaggy dough. When it starts to form a ball, pour the contents of the bowl onto the counter and knead lightly until a soft dough is formed, and no dry flour is left. Divide the dough in half, patting into an inch thick round. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Peel the apples and remove the cores. Cut the apple in half top to bottom and slice the apples into ¼ inch thick slices. Place the slices in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and stir. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon and brown sugar, and toss to coat.
- Preheat your oven to 400.
- Roll out one of the discs on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin into a thin crust about ⅛ inch thick, that will cover the bottom and top edges of your 9 inch pie pan. Pat the dough into the pie pan gently and trim the leftover edges with a sharp knife. Pour in the apple mixture. It should form a tiny mountain of apples in the center, but it will fall when baking.
- Roll out the remaining disc of dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough using a knife, ravioli cutter or pizza cutter into strips of even thickness (I did 1½ inches). Layer the strips over the pie side by side to cover the top vertically, trimming the bottom edges. Use the scraps and roll into a ball and roll out on the floured surface again, cutting more lattice for the opposite direction. Layer these horizontally on top with no space between. Weave the ends in and out every other way until you have a lattice that covers the top. Press the edges of the pie with a fork to seal, trimming all ends. Brush the top of the pie with the whisked egg.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the top is browned. Remove the pie and let it cool for 20 minutes or longer before serving.
Leave a Reply