The Best Apple Pie

Name: The Best Apple Pie
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 10 servings.
Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1-1/4 cups cold unsalted butter, cubed; 1/3 cup cold water; FILLING:; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 5 pounds medium Honeycrisp apples, peeled and sliced 1/4-in. thick; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 1/2 cup apple cider; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 large egg yolk; 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream; Coarse sugar

Boost your apple pie with a buttery crust, pre-cooked apples and an incredible filling with cider, cinnamon and lemon juice. —Nick Iverson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/3 cup cold water
FILLING:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 pounds medium Honeycrisp apples, peeled and sliced 1/4-in. thick
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Coarse sugar

Directions

For the crust, pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until blended. Add butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. While processing, add just enough ice water to form moist crumbs. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.
For the filling, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add apples and next six ingredients; stir to combine. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples have softened and released their juices, 10-12 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer apple slices to a 15x10-in. baking pan; spread into a single layer. Add cider to remaining liquid in Dutch oven and bring to a boil; cook until juices reduce to 1/2 cup, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour over apple slices; cool completely. (Filling can be made 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.)
Preheat oven to 425°. Adjust oven rack to lowest position; place foil on rack to catch any spills. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a deep dish 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to within 1/2-in. of rim. Add filling. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Whisk together egg yolk and cream; brush top of pie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill 15 minutes.
Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly, 40-50 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

Editor’s Note: For a braided top crust, roll remaining dough to a 12x12-in. rectangle; cut into fifteen 3/4-in. wide strips lengthwise. Working three pieces at a time, braid strips. Arrange over filling; trim edges as needed to fit. Flute bottom pastry edge around filling.

Nutrition Facts

1 slice: 557 calories, 30g fat (18g saturated fat), 94mg cholesterol, 363mg sodium, 73g carbohydrate (43g sugars, 5g fiber), 4g protein.

Originally published as The Best Apple Pie in Taste of Home September/October 2016

Reviews

My Review

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Average Rating:

peaco

Sep 27, 2016

I really, really wanted to love this pie...but.... I LOVE apples and apple everything, but I found there was just to much apple in this recipe... I like a better crust/apple ratio. Secondly, I've never made an apple pie that had allspice in it... I could tell it was in there and I didn't care for it... Although I cooked the apples down, once the pie was made and I cut into it, there was a good 1/2 inch of juice in the bottom of the pie, making the bottom crust soggy. Visually, it was a beautiful pie... Sadly, I won't make again...
GratefulNana

Sep 5, 2016

I made this today following the instructions as close as possible. It came out really to be a very beautiful and delicious pie. I'd like to make it again.
shawnba

Aug 25, 2016

This pie was really only average.. What I liked: cooking the apples eliminated the "dead space" you sometimes get between the top crust and the apples. Also really liked the all butter crust. It was easy to work with, and rolled out like a dream. Full disclosure I rubbed the butter into the flour by hand. I hate the texture of food processor pie crust. What I didn't like: this is a very wet pie. the bottom crust was soggy and unappealing. The apples were firm and held their shape beautifully, but it wasn't sweet enough, and didn't have enough spice. This was very labor intensive for an average product
ms11145

Aug 22, 2016

First of all, this is a time consuming recipe, but worth it. Since I didn't have apple cider, I had to sub orange juice. I was afraid that there would be too much *liquid* so I thickened the liquid and I'm so glad I did. Even with that, it was still a tad juicy when I cut it later. Since my family loves the taste of cinnamon with apples, I upped the amount. Instead of brushing the top crust with egg and cream, I topped it with cinnamon sugar. Family loved it that way. For fun, I tried the braided crust.