With Thanksgiving just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a delicious, mouth-watering apple pie? To prepare for this feast, instead of wrapping your head around how to carve a turkey, follow these basic steps to create an apple pie that will certainly not disappoint. This recipe was adapted from my dear family friend, Maggie, who is a modern Betty Crocker. Each year when my family and I visit her beautiful summer house in Long Beach Island, I always look forward to making this pie with her.
Ingredients
3 cups of flour
3 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (Kerry Gold is best or Land O’Lakes)
1/4 cup of cold water
4 Granny Smith apples
4 Golden Delicious apples
1 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of cornstarch starch
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1 egg
Directions
Pour flour into a large bowl and cut your butter into slices to add to the flour. With a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the flour until it looks like oatmeal or has pea-size pieces. Next, add the ¼ cup of water and use your fork (NOT a whisk!) to blend it all together.
To form the dough, shape it into two, round disks. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours. While you’re waiting, peel, core and slice the apples into ¼ inch slices.
Place the proper amounts of sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a separate bowl and add to apples. Then, mix it all together to smell the flavors of fall.
Butter the pie pan using a 10” deep dish. Once the two hours are up, roll out the pastry dough to 12” and line the bottom of the pie pan with dough. Then, add the apple mixture and dot the apples with butter.
Roll out the second disk to cover the apples. Using scissors, cut excess dough around the pie plate and press the dough to seal with a fork. To let it breathe, cut 1” holes in the center of the pie.
On a side plate, beat an egg and add a few drops of water to brush over the pie dough for a glossy finish.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 15 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 385 degrees and bake for an additional hour.
Keep track of the time for your pie to get a golden finish. And then, voilà! You’re done! Your hard work will shine among the rest of the Thanksgiving table decor. With vanilla ice cream on top, this pie will melt in your mouth for a perfectly balanced flavor.
Let this source be a sense of relief for you. As friends and family share their Thanksgiving wishes, keeping it simple with this apple pie recipe will certainly be something the table is grateful for.