Classic Apple Pie
Ingredients
Makes a 9 inch pie
Crust
- 1 egg, separated
- 1⁄2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3⁄4 cup cold water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup lard (or shortening)
- 1 ¾ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
Filling
- 2 large spicy apples, Galas or Bramleys
- 3 large sweet apples, Jonagolds or Honeycrisp
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp butter
- Coarse granulated sugar for sprinkling
Method
Make the crust
- Separate the egg, reserving the white in a small bowl, mix in 1 tbsp of water. Set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup, mix the egg yolk with the apple cider vinegar and enough water to reach the 1⁄2-cup mark. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, tip in the flour, lard, salt and sugar. Combine using your hands, breaking in the lard until the mixture into pea sized pieces, and until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add egg and water mixture slowly tablespoon by tablespoon, (you may not use all of it), and knead gently just to combine. Do not overwork the dough. Separate the dough and form two balls.
- Place each ball in between two sheets of plastic wrap and press into a circle large enough to cover your pie plate. Repeat with second dough ball. Place in fridge for at least an hour. This dough can be made ahead of time, store in sealed plastic bag for up to two days. Freeze for up to 1 month.
For the filling
- Peel and slice apples into pieces about ¼ inch thick wedges. In a bowl, mix apples, lemon juice, dark brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg, until well coated. Set aside.
prepare the pie
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Roll the dough into two disks that are about 2-3 inches wider than your pie shell and about 1/8 inch thick. Place one crust in the pie plate, and press into the plate gently. Trim off any excess, and reserve to make decorations to place on top.
- Pour filling into the crust and dot with small pieces of butter. Brush the edge with egg white. Cut a central vent in the top crust. Place atop the filling and cinch and crimp the edges closed using your fingers. Cut out and make any decorations using the dough trimming (leaves, apples, etc).
- Glaze the top crust with egg white, and place the decorations on. Glaze the top of the decorations and sprinkle with coarse granulated sugar.
- Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F and bake for another 45 minutes or so, until crust is golden brown. Serve with vanilla Chantilly cream and/ or vanilla ice cream.
Note
Chantilly is best homemade, just whip up heavy cream with a scraped vanilla bean and confectionary sugar to taste.
