I love, love, love apple pie. I normally don't like anything that is too sour (with the only exception is the Chinese sweet n sour pork and apple pies). Other than these two, I can say I pretty much don't like anything sour. No lemon meringue pie, no sour skittles, no sour candy. It's a warm summer day and to celebrate our 3 year anniversary with my bf, instead of going out to have steak n lobster (which I love lobster), I all of a sudden really want to bake. The recipe was adapted from Annie's Eats. I trust her website so much, that every single item I followed her recipe turns out perfectly delicious. So with my lack of baking skills, I entrusted everything she says. And baked my very first apple pie. I'm actually pretty proud of making the crust without any fancy baking equipment. I made this pie with only bowls, spatulas, knives, and measuring spoons/cups. How'd it turn out? I loved it!!! I love how beautiful it looks!
Ingredients:
Pie Crust (One 9-inch. *Double the recipe for a double crust pie.) :
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tbsp. very cold water
Filling:
4-5 medium/large Granny Smith apples (about 2½ lbs.), peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water (for egg wash)
Procedure:
1. To make the pie crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix briefly with a spatula to blend. Add in the butter pieces and mix with spatula and use a knife to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas. Mix in the cold water just until the dough comes together.
2. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (This dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
3. Remove from the refrigerator. The dough should have a marbled effect, where the the concentrated butter pieces will help with the flakiness. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pie dough into approximately a 12-inch round. I lift up my dough sheet and rotate it every few rolls or so to prevent it from sticking to the work surface. (Keep the other half of the pie dough chilled for now.) Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate, trimming the excess and crimping the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Position an oven rack in the upper-middle position. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples, sugars, flour, spices and lemon juice. Toss well to combine. When the bottom crust is finished chilling, pour the apple mixture and accumulated juices into the bottom pie crust and use a spatula to even the top out slightly. Dot the surface of the apples with the pieces of cold butter. Roll out the remaining pie dough on a floured work surface. Make a lattice top crust as shown in the link. Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg wash. This is important! You want a lovely golden pie crust, trust me.
5. Place a baking sheet on the lower oven rack. Place the pie on the upper rack and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature with your favourite vanilla ice cream.
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Thoughts:
1. I prefer my apples to be a bit softer, the granny smith are still very crunchy. I should look for other cooking apples.
2. Maybe the granny smith apples are more sour, I find this recipe a bit on the sour side. But perfect with ice cream.
3. The amount of dough made was perfect. Too much apples this time. Next time 4 medium ones are good.
