Apple Pie Bible
Make the Perfect Apple Pie
In this week before the great Autumn holiday known as Thanksgiving, I cannot not share about Apple Pie, the iconic symbol of American culture (despite deriving from Europe).
The reason I feel compelled to share is not because I hold memories of traditional Apple Pie served at the Thanksgivings of my childhood. (I don’t).
It’s also not because it’s my husband’s favorite pie. (It is). Thus, I make it often.
Rather, it’s because it is one of the top Thanksgiving pies of all time. It’s also the one that gives people the most trouble when baking their own at home.
I never knew how important apple pie was to Thanksgiving until I owned a bakery. When I was young, pumpkin pie was our tradition. I remember helping my grandma make several pumpkin pies for the holiday. We’d serve them with big dollops of Cool Whip and lots of coffee.
Then I met my husband, and he liked three fruits, apple being one of them. He was always wanting apple pie (and still does).
While we didn’t eat a lot of whole apple pies when I was young, hand pies were another matter. I was obsessed with the original Hostess hand pies my mom used to stuff in my lunch box. The apple, cherry and blueberry were my favorite. I suppose this ultra-processed fruit concoction was a far cry from real apple pie, but I didn’t mind.
Going into the Hostess outlet stores to buy my pies was such a treat. The entire store smelled like bread and sugar.
I traded my lunchbox Hostess pies for McDonald’s fried apple pies when I started working there as a teenager. In fact, my “free” shift meal was typically a fry and an apple pie. (shh, don’t tell my mother). It was delicious in a way only a teen girl could appreciate.
Then I started baking. At that time, there was a show on the Food Network that featured people who had left their jobs to become food entrepreneurs. One of the shows featured a Michigan couple that fell in love with a pie shop while vacationing in California. They were inspired to quit their jobs and start a pie shop in their town.
I don’t know why, but that stuck with me. All I could think of was that was what I wanted to do too. Maybe I was trying to escape my stressful career. Or just maybe, I had finally found a creative outlet that fit me.
I immediately signed up for the first pastry course I could find. Our first class we made pie, an Apple Blueberry pie to be exact.
Suddenly, I was seeing apple pie everywhere.
My first season of doing farmer’s markets, everyone always asked for apple pie. When we signed up for our first big festival, we ran out of apple pie first. I ran home to bake more and my sister text me to hurry because she had already pre-sold them.
Do you know how long it takes apple pie to bake? A long time, and even longer when you’re watching them through the oven door.
Our first holiday season is when I learned that there were really just three pies important to the Thanksgiving menu:
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Of course, there’s always going to be the ones who ask for Banana Cream in the middle of winter, like my husband for instance. And there’s people who like a chocolate option. But for the turkey holiday, the big three were the stars of the show.
Despite this, we spent a long time agonizing over the menu every year before it launched in October. Looking back, all we had to do was offer three choices and call it a holiday.
But we like our options.
Don’t get me wrong, I love options. But for a small kitchen, options are hazardous, especially when you make apple pie.
Apple pies are intense. Apples have to be peeled and stored. It’s not only laborious, but also, takes a lot of space. We are talking about big boxes containing a lot of apples to make a lot of pies.
The Saturday before Thanksgiving we would begin peeling apples. Several boxes could fit in the main cooler, but after that we were out of space. So, we had to get creative.
Since we had a delivery van, and November is not in wedding season, and we live in IL where the weather is pretty chilly in November, we used our van to store the cut up apples. It worked perfectly.
The weekend before Thanksgiving is a time when you need all hands on deck, especially when you offer such a big menu of items like we did. We weren’t just baking pies. We also offered beautiful holidays cakes, cookies, cupcakes and morning pastries. Typically we had about eight flavors of pies that came in three sizes, and quiche for the holiday morning. You know, the options. It was a lot. We all worked overtime to make it happen.
A friend recently asked me if I miss the bakery at this time of year. Of course I do. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday at the bakery, just like it’s my favorite holiday at home.
Apple Cranberry pies lined up for the oven.
I love the memories of boxing up all the pies, organizing all the orders, and creating different stations for pick-up. Customers would begin lining up an hour before we opened just to snag one of the extra pies we baked for people who didn’t place an order before the cut-off. Despite the wait, our customers were the happiest people, and so complimentary. There is something special about picking up a holiday order. And handing it out.
I look back at these photos and it gives me all the feels of a very special time when I helped others celebrate their special holiday by creating traditions through food I made for them.
So, I hope these recipes help you create your own special holiday food.
Apple Pie Tips
Most people have made an apple pie, or two. If you’re looking to make the “perfect” pie this holiday season, here’s a few tips.
First, before starting the recipe, decide which pie plate you’re going to use. For making a double crust apple, I usually use my deep dish pie plate. Since the last thing I want is a tall crust with a lot of empty space at the top, I make sure to pile the apples high and then cover them with the crust. They will condense during baking.
Second, when making a double crust apple pie, it will turn out better if you have time to chill the pie before baking. After covering the apples with the top crust, baste them in egg and put your pie into the freezer for about thirty minutes before baking it. The crust will hold its shape better. In fact, this also works for the apple crumble pie too.
Third, no matter which apple pie you’re making, slice your apples all the same size. Don’t mix cubes with slices, or thick with thin slices. Slice uniformly for even baking.
Fourth, when making a crumble pie, you may need less apples than the double crust pie so you can pile the crumble high. It condenses during baking too.
Also, if you decide to use Honeycrisp apples (or something similar), you may need to reduce your sugar by 1/4 C due to the sweetness of the apples.
Lastly, it helps if you work quickly with your cold ingredients, but only after your apples have had enough time to sit and marry with the sugar mixture to form juices. You’ll want to see those juices bubbling over onto the cookie sheet during baking.
Oh and don’t forget to use parchment paper on your cookie sheet. Those juices are like cement when they cool!
Classic Apple Pie
Ingredients
8 C sliced apples (use a mix of Gala and Granny Smith) (8 apples)
1 C granulated sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
3 T all-purpose flour
1/2 lemon
2 T butter, diced
1 egg
1 recipe Michelle’s Favorite Pie Crust, or your favorite pie dough for a double crust (chilled)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Squeeze lemon juice over sliced apples in bowl.
Combine remaining dry ingredients and add to bowl with apples. Let sit at least 30 minutes.
While apples are sitting, roll bottom crust of pie and place in pie plate.
Place apple mixture, and all of the juices, into pie plate lined with crust.
Add diced butter to top of apples.
Roll top crust and place it over the apples in the pie plate.
Overlap bottom crust onto top crust. Seal and crimp.
Mix egg with a little water. Use a pastry brush to brush it all over pie crust.
Make some slits in top crust for steam to release.
Place pie on parchment lined cookie sheet and into oven to bake. The pie will bake until browned and juices bubble over, typically 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Let cool fully for juices to settle and distribute.
Baker’s note: not all pie plates are the same size. You may need less apples, you may need more. Adjust according to the size of your pie plate.
Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie
Ingredients
8 C sliced apples (use a mix of Gala and Granny Smith)
1 C whole cranberries
1 C granulated sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 lemon
one orange, zested
1/2 recipe Michelle's Favorite Pie Crust or your favorite pie dough for a single crust, formed and chilled.
Crumble top, see below
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Squeeze lemon juice over sliced apples in bowl.
Combine remaining dry ingredients, plus orange zest, and add to bowl with apples. Let sit at least 30 minutes.
While apples are sitting, roll bottom crust of pie and place in pie plate.
Mix cranberries in with apple slices. (add more cranberries if desired).
Place apple mixture, and all of the juices, into pie plate lined with crust.
Top with chilled crumble top (as much as desired).
Place pie on parchment lined cookie sheet and into oven to bake. The pie will bake until browned and juices bubble over, typically 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Let cool fully for juices to settle and distribute.
Crumble Top
Ingredients
1 C brown sugar
1 C old-fashioned oats
1 C all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 C, 4 oz), cut into cubes
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together using hands or a pastry cutter until well mixed and crumbly.
Chill until cold.
Apple Crumble Pie
For a crumble top pie (also known as “Dutch” pie, add the crumble top recipe to the top of the classic apple pie recipe in lieu of a pastry crust top.
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