By Maris Callahan
For a lot of people, September means back to school. For me, September means apple picking, whether it’s driving to a “pick-your-own” farm or spending a morning rummaging through crates of apples at the local farmers market. In my house, apple season usually results in fresh applesauce, apple strudel, and obviously, apple pie. In fact, the American Pie Council (and who knew there was such a thing?) has traced pie back to the early 1500s and it has since evolved into a vital part of American culture – hence the phrase, “As American as apple pie.”
While baking a pie sounds time-consuming and intimidating, it can be very easy with, like anything, a little bit of practice. Whether you’re a newbie pie-baker or you consider yourself an expert, you can craft a uniquely individual apple pie by taking a basic recipe and being creative with new ingredients like pecans, orange zest, cream, or brandy. You can also create some tasty variations on your traditional recipe to give your pie exotic flair. For each of the following three pie recipes, you can choose your favorite apples for baking, but I would recommend using a combination of any of the following: Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Cortland, Granny Smith, or Jonagold.
Use this PDF for all three recipes, as well as the All Butter Pie Crust.
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Download the Recipe PDF Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs. |
Pie #1: Traditional Apple Pie
Ingredients
Double recipe of Katie Goodman’s All Butter Pie Crust, or use your favorite packaged crust for a 9″ pie
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups chopped, peeled apples
1 cup golden raisins, optional
Directions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Divide your pie crust into two equal parts (if you’re using a packaged crust they are already separated into two pieces). Line a 9″ pie pan with half the all-butter pie crust, folding any excess dough over the edges of the crust. Place the remaining dough aside.
Step 2: Mix the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the sour cream until fully blended. Add the apples and (if desired) raisins.
Step 3: Toss lightly until the mixture is well combined and all the apples are coated in the sour cream mixture. Place the mixture into the pie pan and set aside.
Step 4: On a lightly floured surface, roll the remaining dough into a 10″-wide circle. Cut the dough into at least eight equal strips (you may have some dough leftover) and form a lattice, or crosshatch pattern on the top of the pie.
Step 5: Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for approximately 45 minutes or until the apples are tender and the pastry has turned golden brown. Serve warm.
Serves 8-10
Pie #2: Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients
Pie:
Double recipe of All Butter Pie Crust, or use your favorite packaged crust for a 9″ pie
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
2 ½ cups chopped, peeled apples
1 cup golden raisins, optional
Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
5 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced into small pieces
Directions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9″ pie pan with the all-butter pie crust (or half of a packaged pie crust) folding any excess dough over the edges of the crust.
Step 2: Prepare the pie filling: Mix the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the sour cream until fully blended. Add the apples and (if desired) raisins. Toss lightly until the mixture is well combined and all the apples are coated in the sour cream mixture. Place the mixture into the pie pan and set aside.
Step 3: Prepare the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse, wet sand.
Step 4: Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie filling, coating the entire top of the pie as evenly as possible.
Step 5: Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for approximately 45 minutes or until the apples are tender and the pastry has turned golden brown. Serve warm.
Serves 8-10
Pie #3: French-Style Apple Tart
Ingredients
Double recipe of All Butter Pie Crust, or use your favorite packaged crust for a 9″ pie
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
3 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
Directions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom with half the all-butter pie crust, folding any excess dough over the edges of the crust.
Step 2: Mix the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the sour cream until fully blended.
Step 3: Arrange apples in a pinwheel pattern across the top of the pie crust. Pour the mixture evenly over the apples, coating the entire top of the tart.
Step 4: Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for approximately 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the top of the tart has begun to harden. Serve warm.
Serves 8-10
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