Apple Pie from Scratch

When deciding on our Thanksgiving meal this year, we both wanted apple pie and not the traditional pumpkin pie for dessert. Immediately, I referred to one of my favorite cookbooks, Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible for a recipe. Of course, I found the perfect Apple Pie recipe plus a recipe for the pie crust, Paula’s Flaky Piecrust Dough.

I will admit I have not baked a pie 100% from scratch before – so I was pretty nervous, mostly about the pie crust. I read the recipes ahead of time to make sure I had all necessary ingredients and important kitchen utensils. Armed with this knowledge I knew I could prepare the pie crusts a night in advance (actually 3 days before!) and I had supreme confidence in my decision to do so. I anticipated the pie crust being terribly difficult to pull off – I mean, why else would there be so many pre-made pie crusts for sale? The process of forming the dough was easy, especially since I have a food processor. I allowed the pie dough to chill in the refrigerator for a total of three hours before rolling out the dough and placing into the pie plate. The process of rolling out the dough and covering the pie plate was the most frustrating part of the entire process. I first dusted the silicone mat I planned to work the dough on, however, after rolling the dough out once and having dough stick to the mat, I thought the mat was a bad idea, I learned differently later. The silicone mat was abandoned, and I proceeded to roll dough again on a floured surface. Upon attempting to pull the pie crust away from the surface, the crust got stuck again! Luckily, William, who had been on the phone up until now, noticed I had become frustrated and offered his help and advice. Using a little cup of water and more flour allowed the dough to expand more and not stick to my surface. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided to have Will roll the pie crust. Thankfully, he was able to roll out the perfect pie crust on the first attempt! I finished by pushing the pie crusts up the sides and along the bottom of the pie plate, covered with plastic wrap, and placed the pie into the refrigerator for the night. I was also a bit intimated by the process of forming the lattice crust. I decided to dive in head first, give it a try, and was pleasantly surprised the process was easier than I had imagined, partly in thanks to Paula Dean’s helpful diagram. The rest of the process was easy, although I didn’t peel the apples, which I will try to remember to do next time.

Overall, I thought the pie was good, but there was too much nutmeg or ginger in the pie filling; The crust is delicious! I worried about the taste of the crust more than the consistency. This pie crust is the perfect flaky crust. Will loved the apple pie and has already had a second helping. We decided to try cooking pies more often, and I am looking forward to making fruit pies and pot pies with this crust recipe. I am also satisfied with my newest buy, The Life of Pie Ceramic Pie Plate, from Pick Your Plum.

Paula Deen’s Apple Pie

Print Recipe

Both recipes are from Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible, Apple Pie (p. 313) and Paula’s Flaky Piecrust Dough (p. 339).

Servings

1 9-inch pie

Servings 1 9-inch pie

Paula Deen’s Apple Pie Print Recipe Both recipes are from Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible, Apple Pie (p. 313) and Paula’s Flaky Piecrust Dough (p. 339). Servings 1 9-inch pie Servings 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

Apple Filling

• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 piecrusts
• 6 apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tbsp cold butter cut into small bits
• whole milk for brushing
• cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Pie Crust, Optional

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp cold butter cut into small bits
• 1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
• 2-4 tbsp ice-cold water

Servings: 9-inch pie

Instructions

Paula’s Flaky Piecrust Dough

1. Using a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture is coarse. Add one tablespoon of the ice-cold water and pulse. Repeat until the dough forms a rough, loose ball.
2. Place the dough on plastic wrap, flatten the dough and wrap tightly. Place the wrapped dough in a cool place for a minimum of two hours before working further. Repeat the entire process for the second pie crust.

Apple Pie

1. If using homemade pie crusts: roll each of the dough balls into 12-inch rounds. Use one round to line a pie pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes although overnight is best. The second round can be placed on a flat baking sheet and loosely covered with plastic wrap until needed.
2. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line the dough in the pie pan with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake the pie crust for a total of 20 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, and salt. Mix until all apples are thoroughly covered.
4. Once the pie crust is done baking, remove the foil and pie weights. Pour the apple mixture into the pie crust. Evenly distribute the butter bits over the apple mixture.
5. Cut the remaining pie round into 1/2-inch wide strips. Use these strips to make a lattice crust. Gently brush milk over the lattice top and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.

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