Baking with Ben: Apple Pie

*As promised, today my beloved husband Ben is sharing his carefully crafted method of pie making with you all. Enjoy! And thanks, love for your help!

From the earliest that I can remember I have always had an affinity for pastry creation.  Early on in my childhood I started baking pies with my mom.  I’ve always enjoyed it and have been lucky enough in my 20 or so years of baking that I have only had a couple utter disasters.  Autumn is also my favorite time of year.  There is just something about the crispness and smell of the air, the changing of the leaves, the shorter days, that makes me crave the sweet, spicy aroma of a cooling apple pie!  In my two decades of pastry preparation I have picked up a few tips and tricks that I will share along our journey together in the preparation of a perfect apple pie.  Many thanks goes out to my Mother for instilling in me a love of pie baking that forced me to memorize the recipe for pie crust and my Aunt Anne for taking the time and having the dedication to construct an anthology of family heirloom recipes that I can always reference for the pie recipe itself!

For the crust

2/3 cup Crisco

2 cups flower

1 teaspoon salt

5-8 tablespoons ice water

First things first fill a coffee mug ½ way with water and add a couple of ice cubes, then set to the side.  Combine the flower and salt with fork to distribute salt evenly throughout the flour.  Add the Crisco, I find it helps to add it in two “clumps” using a 1/3^rd cup measuring cup.  Use the pastry blender to work the ingredients together until nice little pea shaped clumps start to form.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Between additions, mix the dough lightly with a fork.  Repeat until a workable dough consistency is achieved.  Be careful not to overwork the dough though.  The more you work the dough while adding the water, the less flaky it will be when it bakes.  Lightly coat your hands with flour and take the dough, form it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it in the freezer.

For the Apple Filling

2/3 cup sugar

1/3^rd teaspoon cinnamon

1/3^rd teaspoon nutmeg

1/3^rd teaspoon ground cloves

1/3^rd teaspoon allspice

5-7 large apples

4 pats butter

Fancy apple/peeler/corer/slicer.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and move the rack to the middle position, then start with the apples.  You want a variety of apple that isn’t too sweet, but not too tart.  It should be firm and crisp, not soft and grainy textured.  I prefer the Sweet Emma variety for baking but have been lucky enough to live my entire life with access to apples grown at a family owned and operated orchard not too far from my parent’s house…store bought apples just don’t compare to David Doud's County Line Orchard (check them out here!).  You want to peel and slice them, or if you are lucky enough, use your fancy Apple peeler/corer/slicer.  My mom bought this one for me when I was in Jr. High and I have used it for every apple pie I have made ever since.  When you get the apples sliced, place them in a bowl and move on to the spice mixture.  Mix the sugar, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon in a bowl and set to the side.

Go back to the freezer and remove your chilled dough.  Split it in half and flour your counter, you will need half of the dough for the bottom of the crust and the other half for the top.  Push the dough down to make it into a flat disc shape then flip it over and make sure both sides have a thin coating of flour to prevent it from sticking when you roll it out.  Grab your rolling pin and get busy.  The size you need to roll the bottom crust out to depends on the size of your pie plate.  I always use a deep dish pie plate to get as much filling as possible in the pie.  Place the bottom crust in the pie plate and make sure to make a couple slits in the crust…as the pie bakes this will prevent air bubbles from forming. 

Coat the bottom crust with ½ of the spice mixture and a tablespoon of flour.  I add a bit of flour to all the fruit pies I make to help ensure any excess water is absorbed so you don’t have a runny pie.  This is especially important if your apples are extra juicy.   Add the apples to the pie plate then coat them with the rest of the spice mixture and add the four pats of butter.  I always break the four pieces up into smaller pieces and try and make them as radially symmetrical as possible…this might not actually affect the outcome of the pie, but it satisfies my slight case of OCD. 

Now that you are almost done comes the need for some creativity.  The top crust can be formed any way you want it.  Grab your other half of the dough and roll it out just like the bottom crust.  My Granny always made a top crust like the bottom crust but cut the word “Love” in it after it was placed on the apples.  My mom had a big “cookie cutter” that when pressed on the rolled out top crust removed little apple and heart cutouts.  I always make a lattice by rolling out the dough, cutting it in thin strips, and meticulously placing them.  Whatever way you choose, just make sure there is a way for the hot air to escape the top of the pie. 

Crimping the crust.

After the top crust is placed, fold the excess from the bottom crust over the top crust and pinch them together with your thumb of one hand and the index finger and thumb of your other hand, sealing the two crusts together.  To prevent the edge of the pie from browning in the oven too soon, wrap the edge of the pie where the crust sits on the lip of the pie plate with a layer of foil.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.  Lower heat to 350 then bake for an additional 45-50 minutes.  When the pie is done the crust will be golden brown and flaky and there may be some bubbling of the apple pie goodness coming out of the top of the pie.  For that reason, I would recommend putting an old bread pan underneath the pie to catch any errant drippings.  When it is done put the pie in your window, sit back, relax for an hour or so while the pie cools and sets up, and enjoy the wonderful smell of Autumn that is sure to have filled your house.

Apple Pie