Life & Style

All-American Apple Pie

If you want to offer your guests an alternative to the standard pumpkin pie dessert course, you cannot go wrong with a traditional apple pie. Fresh apples, fragrant with cinnamon and lightly sugared, fill a tender, flaky pastry in this recipe from Apple Cookbook author Olwen Woodier.

Ingredients

Basic Pie Crust (enough for a double 9- or 10-inch pie crust)
¼ cup melted apricot jam or marmalade
5 large apples (Ida Red, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, or a mix of several varieties)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
1½ teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9- or 10-inch pie plate.

2. Roll out half of the pastry and fit it into the pie plate. Brush with the melted jam and refrigerate.

3. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices. Place in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.

4. Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

5. Layer half of the apple slices in the chilled pie shell and sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Repeat the layers. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the apples.

6. Roll out the top crust, place over the filling, trim and flute the edges. Cut 3 steam vents in the center.

7. Brush with the milk and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 50–60 minutes. If the edges of the crust start to brown too quickly, cover with strips of aluminum foil. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.