Best 6 Best Ever Classic Apple Pie Recipes

THE BEST APPLE PIE EVER

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl; set aside. Press one of the pastries into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan; reserve the crust.
• Toss the apples with maple syrup and vanilla extract. Spread 1/3 of the apples into the pie pan and sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Repeat the layers with the remaining apples and sugar. Cover the pie with the top crust and pinch the edges to seal.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

THE BEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the dough: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and process until the largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Stir the vodka, vinegar and 1/4 cup ice water in a small bowl (or 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water if you're not using vodka). Drizzle the wet ingredients over the dough, and then mix with a fork until shaggy pieces form. Knead the dough in the bowl with your hands a couple of times until it comes together (it will look quite dry, which is fine). Transfer the large clumps of dough to a work surface. Drizzle 1 tablespoon ice water over any remaining smaller bits of dough in the bowl and knead again to bring it together. If the remaining dough is still too dry to come together, add more ice water in 1 tablespoon increments. Add to the dough on the work surface and press together into a single mass, incorporating any dry bits. Then pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick block. Divide the block into 4 pieces with a bench scraper or knife. Stack the pieces on top of one another, tucking any unincorporated dry bits in between the layers. Flatten the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick block. Repeat this process (cutting, stacking and flattening) three more times; this creates layers of butter in the dough that produces a wonderful flaky, almost puff pastry-like crust.
• Divide the dough in half and form into 1-inch-thick discs; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. The dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep it refrigerated or freeze it for up to 3 months.
• To fill and assemble: Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/2-inch wedges. Toss the apples, brown sugar, flour, butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl. Let the fruit sit for 30 minutes to extract the juices.
• Meanwhile, soften one dough disc at room temperature for 5 minutes. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick (about 16 inches in diameter). Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate. Soften the second disc at room temperature for 5 minutes. Then roll it out to the same thickness and diameter as the first disc.
• Carefully transfer the second disc to a 9-inch pie dish. Lift the edges so the dough slumps down into the dish. Press the dough firmly against the sides and bottom of the dish. Trim the edges, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to firm up. Remove the first disc from the refrigerator and let it soften for 5 minutes.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line another rimmed baking sheet with foil and place it on the center rack.
• Scrape the apple filling into the pie dish, creating a mound in the center. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl and brush the edges of the dough. Place the other disc over the filling. Trim the edges, leaving about a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the bottom edge up and over the top edge; press together to seal. Crimp the edge and brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Cut several vents in the top evenly spaced. Freeze the pie for 10 minutes.
• Put the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. Continue to bake for 45 minutes, and then loosely tent with foil. Continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices are thick and vigorously bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes longer. The juices will start to bubble at around 75 minutes, but they will thicken and bubble faster in the last 15 minutes; don't be tempted to pull it out until the bubbles are really going. (If using a clear pie dish, check underneath to make sure the bottom crust is evenly browned.) Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it cool at least 4 hours before serving. (Yes, it smells amazing, and yes, people love warm pie. But if you don't give it time to set up properly, the filling will be runny when you cut into it.)

APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, combine sugars, flour and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture; toss to coat. , On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim even with rim. Add filling; dot with butter. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Beat egg white until foamy; brush over crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edge loosely with foil. , Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil; bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

CLASSIC APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Make the filling: Toss the apples with the granulated sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring, until the juices are simmering. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the firmer apples soften but still hold their shape, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cinnamon and salt and toss to thicken the juices, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool. (The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 6 more tablespoons butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse a few times. If the dough doesn't hold together when squeezed, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Divide the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pat each into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface (or between 2 sheets of floured parchment) into a 12-inch round. (If the dough gets too warm, refrigerate until firm.) Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Add the filling, mounding it slightly in the center, and dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator.
• Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round. Lay the dough over the filling and press the 2 crusts together around the edges. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp as desired. Brush the beaten egg over the top crust and edge; sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Pierce the top crust with a knife a few times to let steam escape. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Put a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom oven rack and preheat to 425˚ F for 30 minutes. Place the pie on the hot pan and reduce the oven temperature to 375˚ F. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours; rotate the pie as needed and cover with foil if the crust browns too quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

BEST EVER CLASSIC APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Fit 1 pie crust to bottom and up side of 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Pick bottom of crust with fork and refrigerate while preparing filling.
• In a small bowl, blend 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the light brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Set aside.
• Cut apples into 1/2" pieces. Melt butter over medium heat. Add apples, lemon juice and sugar mixture. Cook about 10 minutes until juices thicken. Cool on a rack for 25 minutes.
• Pour cooled mixture into the prepared crust lined pie plate. Roll second crust to about 12 inches. Cut 1 inch vent hole in center of dough. Transfer dough to top of pie. Crimp edges together and flute decoratively.
• Brush pie with egg mixture.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cover pie with foil if it bakes too quickly. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.
• For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min - it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it's beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins. Now mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.
• After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin - 20-22cm round and 4cm deep - leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.
• Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.