Cook With Us Week #39- Apple Pie

I'm really exited to be part of @cookwithus and @adollaraday charity potluck dinner. For me potlucks are always fun. You get to see what other delicious foods people make while meeting new friends. This weekend I was at a potluck dinner and I brought over a classic apple pie. There is something comforting and homey which I love about apple pies. I'm excited to share my secrets for making an incredibly delicious and fail-proof pie.

Pie Crust

adapted from Simply Recipes
makes one 9" double crust pie

• 260g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 225g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 115g sour cream

I like to use my food processor for making pie crusts because there will be less chance for over working the dough. Place all the ingredients except for the sour cream into a food processor bowl. Pulse until the chunks of butter are the size of small peas. Add in the sour cream and pulse until moist clumps form. Dump the dough into a large bowl and press to form a ball of dough. Divide the dough in half and slightly flatten the balls of dough. Wrap with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours to chill the dough. I like to make my dough a day in advance. You can also make the dough and freeze it. The day before you want to make the pie, place the dough in the refrigerator.

Apple Pie Filling

adapted from NY Times

• 30g unsalted butter
• 7 large apples (mix of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Braeburn) peeled, and sliced into 1/4" thickness
• 150g granulated sugar
• 65g dark brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• pinch cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

By pre-cooking the apples, this stops the apples from shrinking when the pies are baking. When you slice the finished pie, there will not be a hollow space between the top crust and the apples. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan, add in the apple slices and cook until the juices come out of the apples. The apples should be slightly tender.

Add in the sugar, spices and vanilla extract. Cook until the apples are tender. Mix in the flour, corn starch and lemon juice. Cook until thickened. Spread the apples onto a cooking tray and let cool to room temperature.

To assemble the pie, lightly dust the counter with flour and roll the pie dough to 1/4"-1/2" thick.

Line the pie plate with the dough, pushing down along the edges. Leave 1/2" overlay. Fill the shell with apples.

Roll the second piece of dough to 10" circle. Whisk an egg with a splash of milk to brush along the edges of the pie. The egg wash works like glue to seal the top dough to the bottom. I like to make a lattice pattern over my apple pie but you can
skip that and place the top crust over the apples, make a few slits into the top crust to let the steam escape. To make a lattice pattern, brush the rolled out dough with egg wash and cut into strips. It can be any thickness. Lay them over, making a criss cross pattern.

Trim the excess dough, leaving 1/2" of extra dough. Firmly press the dough and tuck it under, forming a edge for the crust. Pinch the edges together forming a triangle.

Brush the pie with extra egg wash and bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 50 mins or until the pies is golden brown and the edges of the filling start to bubble. I like to eat my pies cold and naked but you can serve it with ice cream, whip cream caramel sauce, or anything else you can imagine.