Harvest Time Apple Pie
The first apple pie recipe ever recorded was by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1381 in England. The pie included apples, figs, raisins and pears, but no sugar. The Dutch version from the 16th century features a recipe more closely aligned to this one, and includes lemon juice, cinnamon and sometimes raisins. Regardless of who actually invented the dish, I think this version will be one of your favorites. Likewise, while this pie is extremely tasty on it's own, if you would like to Gild the Lily, a scoop of vanilla ice cream makes it even more luxurious.
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
Homemade Pie Crust or best store bought pie crust you can find.
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp lard, cut into pieces and frozen for 20 minutes If you prefer you can substitute butter
- 3 tbsp shortening, cut into pieces and frozen for 20 minutes
- 2 tbsp egg, liquid or beaten until it's not stringy
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 5 tbsp water, cold from sitting in ice cubes
Streusel Topping
- 4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar, granulated
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour If you do not have cake flour you can substitute all-purpose flour
Apple Pie Filling
- 9 whole apples, granny smith or a combination of baking apples Peeled, cored and sliced about 8-10 cups
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 cup sugar, granulated
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 tbsp rum
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
Pie Crust
- For the crust, add all of the dry ingredients and lard + shortening to a food processor. Pulse the food processor for a few seconds until the fat is cut into the flour.
- Once the lard and shortening have been incorporated, add the beaten egg and the lemon juice. Pulse to incorporate.
- Add 2-3 tbsp of the ice-cold water to the dough. Pulse briefly to incorporate. Add the remaining tbsp of cold water and pulse to mix in.
- Turn the pie dough onto a clean working surface, and pull the flour together. Have a small amount of flour nearby as well as the ice water. The absorption of the flour will vary, so you may need to add a little flour if it is slightly sticky, or a little water if it is too dry to come together.
- Form the dough into a flat round circle, about 3/4 inch thick. Dust with just a small amount of flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Do not overwork the dough. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
- After the dough has rested, roll out a 13 inch circle on a lightly floured work surface, for a standard sized pie pan. (Be sure to flour your rolling pin first if it is wooden as opposed to marble.) Check to see if the dough is sticking underneath. If it is, add a pinch of flour so it will release from the work surface. One the dough has been rolled out to cover the pie pan, carefully roll it around the rolling pin and then unroll it over the pie pan. Gently lift the dough to fit down into the pan while lightly pushing it into place.
- Take a fork and lightly prick the bottom of the crust all over. With a pair of scissors or knife, trim all but about a half inch of the dough from the side of the pie pan. Pinch together the excess on the rim with your fingers to create a nice edge around the dough to finish.
Streusel Topping
- For the streusel topping, add all of the ingredients to a stand mixer on low. If you don't have one, you can easily use your hands. Mix the butter, sugar, and cinnamon together thoroughly. It's that easy. Reserve until you need it.
Apple Pie Filling and Baking instructions
- Preheat a convection oven to 350 degrees. If you have a regular oven please see Recipe Notes!
- Peel, core and slice the apples. Once you slice a few apples, toss with a little lemon juice to keep the fruit from oxidizing. Continue until you have all the apples prepped in a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining lemon juice.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the butter. Toss the spices, sugars, and flours with the apples until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Sprinkle the bottom of the ready-made or homemade pie crust, with a little of the streusel topping. Add 1/3 of the sliced apples and dot with a few pats of butter. Sprinkle all of this again with a little streusel topping. Add the remaining apples to the pie shell. The apples should be piled high.
- Set the pie onto a sheet pan, and using both hands, add the streusel topping and pack it around the pie. Continue packing the streusel topping around the mound of apples until it is completely covered.
- Remove the pie briefly from the sheet pan, and pour off excess streusel topping back into it's bowl. Once the sheet pan is cleaned, returned the pie to the sheet pan and place into a preheated 350 degree convection oven for one hour.*
- Bake the pie for one hour and look for the streusel topping to start turning golden brown. Some apple juice may boil over the pie, but this is fine.
- Once the pie is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing. If you slice the pie while it is hot, the filling will ooze out.
Notes
*The 1 hour baking time is for a convection oven. If you are using a traditional oven, increase the temperature to 450 after 1 hour. The pie should get golden brown in about 15-20 minutes, but keep a close eye on the progress so you don't burn the topping.