Classic Apple Pie

Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.

-Jane Austen

Have you ever heard of the dessert shelf? This is something my friends and I used to joke about having in college.

Essentially you can be stuffed to the brim from too much Buffalo Phils but you still have room for a trip to TCBY to end the night. (If you ever lived in Tuscaloosa you will enjoy my restaurant name drops).

This dessert shelf allows you the ability to always have room for something sweet at the end of a meal. I can’t imagine a more appropriate holiday for the dessert shelf than Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is one of the greatest holiday in the world because it is publicly acceptable to eat until you have to unbutton your pants to breathe; AND there are always multiple pies waiting for you to eat once you catch your breath!

While pumpkin is definitely the go-to for turkey day, why not change it up a bit (or add) an Apple Pie to your rotation? This Classic Apple Pie recipe is beyond easy to make yet looks like you spent 3 days making it so your family will forever be impressed with your pie making skills!

Lessons in apple peeling:

While my dad can peel the skin off an apple with just a paring knife, shockingly, I am not a great apple peeler. There have been multiple close calls when I tried to make the process harder than it needed to be, so heed my advice:

1. Buying an apple corer will save you time and fingers. Seriously, what is easier than sticking the corer in the middle of the apple and emerging with a nice clean core? Nothing!
2. Use a knife only to dice. There is no need to try to peel with a knife like my dad, use a peeler.
3. If you want to be super fancy, buy an all-in-one fruit peeling device. I don’t own one, but after doing a little research it may be on my list for Santa this year.

Apple Pie Part 1- The Filling:

To make yourself a fancy Apple Pie you need to first make the filling. Well, first you need to preheat your oven to 375 degrees…than start on your filling!

To do this you need to combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, nutmeg & cinnamon together in a bowl. Give everything a good stir to make sure it is mixed well.

Next you will place your apple slices into a large bowl & drizzle lemon juice on top. Toss your apples so that the lemon juice will be evenly distributed.

Once your apples are ready, add your cinnamon sugar mixture into the apple bowl. Make sure that you evenly coat your apples with this sugar mixture so that it can create a cinnamon syrup when you let it rest. This “syrup” will be what creates majority of the flavor in your pie!

When your apples are ready, remove your pie doughs from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature.

Roll one of your pie crusts into a 12 inch circle so that when you place it in the pie dish it covers the entire dish. I got my adorable pie dish from Williams-Sonoma!

Add your apples into the dish. Don’t forget to drizzle any remaining syrup from the bowl onto the top of your apples, then top with cubed butter.

Apple Pie Part 2: The Crust

You can create whatever pie crust topping that you desire. Make it as fancy or classic as you want, there is no wrong choice!

To make pie decorations, first roll out your remaining pie dough. Using a pastry roller, cut long strips of dough in different widths of thickness. You can:

• Take a few thin strips and create a braid
• Fold your strips into a lattice pattern
• Do a combination of both
• Cut out fun shapes to place on your pie

When you finish, whisk together 1 large egg. Using a pastry brush, generously cover your pie dough with the egg wash to give your crust a beautiful brown finish!

Bake your pie in the oven for 45-50 minutes until both your top and bottom crusts are completely cooked. Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Making this Classic Apple Pie definitely has its perks:

1. Besides waiting for it to bake, the entire preparation process takes less than 30 minutes
2. It looks and tastes MUCH better than store bought…having a pie that is cookie cutter perfect isn’t fun, homemade is always better!
3. Your home will smell HEAVENLY! Seriously, my house smelled like delicious apple pie for 2 days after making this dish!

There is nothing better than warm apple pie so don’t forget to bring vanilla ice cream and whipped cream to top your pie with!

ENJOY!