This is the best homemade apple pie recipe, and it is made with very basic ingredients. I have been making it for many years, decades really. Over the years I have learned different technics that have really helped make it a wonderful pie, a perfect apple pie. Often times my family will want it on holidays and even as a birthday pie.
The recipe I use was handed down from my husband’s Aunt Henrietta. She grew up during the WW2 era. At that time, they learned really well how to make decant foods with basic ingredients. In her younger years, Aunt Henrietta waitressed as a local restaurant, and she made the homemade pies. People would stop by just to have a piece of one of her pie. She was well known for her delicious pies. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of her pie recipes, not even her homemade apple pie. But I did get her go-to crust recipe. It’s very simple with salt, water, lard, and flour. Shortening can be used in place of the lard, but the lard really tastes the best.
Mixing the Crust
As I stated the crust is made with salt, water, lard, and flour. Dissolve the salt in hot water, not boiling hot. Put the flour and lard in a bowl and add the salt and water mixture in a larger bowl. There are various ways to mix it together.
A food processor is the fastest way to make the crust. Put everything in the food processor and turn it on. When it is mixed, it will ball up. Just check to make sure there are no lard clumps.
A pastry cutter works great for a by hand method. You just press pastry cutter through the dough and over the bottom of the mixing bowl. It cuts through the lard and blends it in with the other ingredients. It will take a bit to get it mixed well. Cleanup is a lot easier.
It can also be done with a sturdy fork by pressing the tines of the fork through the ingredients and against the side of the bowl.
Once everything is mixed well, divide the dough into two balls and refrigerate them for a couple of hours or overnight. The dough needs to be chilled to be less sticky.
Rolling the Dough
Once the dough is chilled, generously flour your work surface, and keep it floured. I like to use a silicone mat to work on. It helps with the cleanup. Rub flour over the rolling pin, too. This needs to stay well floured too. Place the dough in the center of the floured area. Roll it in the flour and add more flour to work surface if needed. Press the dough down a bit, flip the dough over, and using the rolling pin begin rolling it out. Your dough should move slightly over the floured surface. If not, you will need to add more flour. Roll it until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick and about an inch larger than your pie plate. Don’t cut the dough just yet.
To roll the dough in a roundish shape move the rolling pin in the direction you want to be larger. The dough will widen in the direction you roll.
To pick it up bring the rolling pin to top of your dough, gently lift the end of the dough on top of the rolling pin and gently roll the dough onto the rolling pin. Do not use any pressure. Use very light gentle hands. Then place the dough at the end of your pie plate and gently unroll the dough into the pie plate. Adjust the pie crust so it is centered in the pie plate.
Using a knife, trim the edges of the crust even with the edges of the pie plate. Set the pie aside and let’s roll out the top crust. You’ll do everything the same as you did for the bottom crust, except leave it on your work surface until the filling has been added on to the bottom crust.
The Filling and Adding the Top Crust
I recommend using Granny Smith apples. Tart apples bake up to be very sweet and flavorful.
Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. It can be done with a knife and peeler. I peel the apples using a peeler, then use an apple corer slicer. From there I slice the slices into smaller pieces. You can also use and apple peeler corer slicer kitchen gadget. Those are fantastic if you have a lot of apples to prepare.
I do not put anything on the apples to prevent them from turning color. If you peel them and put them right in the pie crust, they discolor very little.
Put all of the dry ingredients on the apples and tossed to coast the apples. Add the apples into the pie plate. Dot the butter on top of the apples and place on the top crust.
With a knife cut the crust the same width as the pie plate. Crimp the top and bottom crust edges together either with your fingers or with a fork.
Use a knife put vent holes in the top crust. I like to put them in a special pattern to help it look a little bit prettier.
The last step prior to baking is lightly rub water on the top of the pie crust and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Wet your fingers and rub on the top of the pie. I’ll do this a couple of times until the entire top crust is slightly damp. Then I put on the cinnamon and sugar. This helps the cinnamon and sugar to stick to the pie crust.
Baking the Pie
You will need to cover the crimped pie crust edges with either a pie crust shield or with aluminum foil. You can tear the foil off into three short pieces that are 1-2 inch long. Use them to cover the crimped edges of the crust. This will protect them from over browning or burning. You do not want to cover the top crust, because it will prevent it from turning that beautiful golden brown.
From there I put the pie plate on a pie drip catcher. It allows for air flow and for the bottom of the pie to cook completely, yet it will catch any pie juice that cooks over. You can either put foil on your oven rack to catch the drippings or use a regular baking sheet.
Bake the pie about 50 minutes and then remove the foil or the pie crust shield and allow it to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool. As it cools the filling will set up. If you eat the pie when it is warm yet, it will be slightly runny, but so delicious!
Serving
We all eat with our eyes first, right? A slice of homemade apple pie with ice cream is perfection in its simplest form. If you are going for a pretty presentation, you can drizzle caramel syrup on your serving plate, add a slice of pie, and ice cream or whipped topping. Top it with more caramel sauce and a sprinkling of pecans. Yum, it’s making me hungry for apple pie!
Try making this homemade apple pie recipe for you next celebration. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. I will gladly help.
Happy baking!
Apple Pie
Equipment
- 1 Deep Dish Pie Plate
- 2 Large Bowls
- 2 Small Bowls
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Knife or Scissors
- 1 Pie shield or Aluminum Foil
- 1 Pastry Cutter, Fork, or Food Processor
- 1 Peeler or paring knife
- 1 Baking sheet
Ingredients
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Hot water Not boiling
- 1 cup Lard or shortening
- 2 cups Flour
- 6 each Granny Smith Apples
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- 4 tbsp Butter
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the food processor put in 2 cups of flour and the lard/shortening.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water. Add to the flour and lard/shortening.
- You can either use a pastry cutter, fork or a food processor to mix the pie crust ingredients until fully mixed together. The dough will be sticky.
- Using your hands divide the dough into 2 dough balls. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 2 hours or overnight.
- To roll out the dough flour the work surface, flour the rolling pin, and your hands. Put some flour on the dough ball and flatten it with your hands and begin rolling. Continue to flour your surface, the rolling pin, and the dough to prevent sticking. Roll out the dough until it is large enough to fit your pie plate with about a half inch or more hanging over the pie plate edge.
- To lift your pie crust to place it in your pie plate, gently roll it onto your rolling pin, move it over the pie plate, center it, and unroll the pie crust from the rolling pin placing it where it needs to be in the pie plate as you unroll it.
- Roll out the top crust, but do not lift it yet. Let it stay on your work surface until the filling is in place.
- Peel, core, and slice apples to about 1/4 inch in thickness and put into a large mixing bowl.
- Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix coating all of the apple slices.
- Place the apple mixture into the pie plate onto of the bottom crust.
- Cut the 4 tbsp of butter into 8 pieces and dot on top of the apples.
- To lift your top pie crust, gently roll it onto your rolling pin, move it over the pie filling centering it, and unroll the pie crust from the rolling pin placing it over the filling as you unroll it.
- Cut the edges of the pie crust to be as wide as the edge of the pie plate. The crust should not be wider than your pie plate. Using your fingers or a fork, crimp the edges of the pie crust together pinching them to prevent them from separating and shrinking during baking.
- Cut vent holes in the top crust.
- In a small bowl mix together some 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp sugar.
- Using your fingers lightly brush the top crust with water. The crust should be lightly damp. The water is to make the cinnamon and sugar hold. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
- Using aluminum foil or a pie crust shield, cover the crust edges. If using foil tear foil into three pieces that are 1-2 inched long. Fold it lightly over the crimped crust. This prevents the crust edges from burning but allows the top crust to get a beautiful golden brown during baking.
- Place a sheet of foil in the oven or put your pie plate on a baking sheet. This prevents the pie from cooking over into the oven.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the top crust is golden. Remove the foil or pie shield from the crust and bake another 10 minutes or until the crimped edges are golden.
- Remove from the even and cool before serving. If it is warm when serving the filling will be runny. As it cools the filling sets up.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping. Maybe a caramel drizzle and chopped pecans too.
Notes
Nutrition
