SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE HOMEMADE APPLE PIE
There’s nothing better than making a homemade apple pie that doesn’t consume your whole day. I used store bought pie crust to keep things simple. The filling consists of McIntosh apples from our local cider mill, all of the fall spices & some butter of course! Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & you have a perfect fall dessert!
As soon as the cider mills open around here, I’m there! There’s something about getting fresh, homegrown apples for a homemade apple pie.
McIntosh was the apple of choice for my apple pie but you can use others if you’re not a fan of McIntosh. You can never go wrong with Honeycrisp apples. Granny Smith is a nice firm apple. Golden Delicious apples are also a good apple to use for pie.
You want to use an apple that has a crunch to it, some sweetness & a little bit of tartness. Depending on the apple you choose to use, you can leave the skin on. I personally like to peel the apples that way the apple pie is easy to eat & you don’t bite into any tough pieces from the skin.
The Ingredients Needed for the Homemade Apple Pie
We’ll start with the obvious, you need apples & lots of them for this pie!
For my homemade apple pie, I chose to use McIntosh apples simply because they are in season right now. They do have a tougher skin, so I peel them before using them. Slicing them thinly. They have a softer inside so I’m careful not to over bake them because it’s easy for them to become mushy & too soft. McIntosh apples have a slight tartness to them which is perfect when you’re making apple pie.
For the pie crust, you can totally make homemade pie crust. For this pie, I chose to keep it simple & use store bought pie crusts. It’s just as good & much less of a hassle. The one I used, says to let the crusts sit out about a half hour to make it easier to work with- do this! It makes such a difference.
Tips
If you aren’t a fan of McIntosh apples, you can use others. Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or Golden Delicious would taste great!
If you’re feeling up for a challenge, go ahead & make a homemade pie crust.
This ones different, but my dad is French Canadian & it’s a thing to eat cheddar cheese with apple pie. He likes a few slices of cheddar cheese with his pie. He’ll have a bite of pie & follow it with a bite of cheese. Don’t knock it til you try it!
SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE HOMEMADE APPLE PIE
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts I use store-bought pie crust
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1/2 cp packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cp granulated sugar + 1 tbsp for topping
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 10-12 apples McIntosh, Honeycrisp or Golden Delicious, peeled & thinly sliced
- 1/4 cp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp milk
- vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.Peel & thinly slice the apples. Set aside.Lightly dust the counter with flour. Roll out one dough so it's slightly bigger than your 9x9 pie plate. Carefully transfer that dough to your pie plate & form it to the dish. Trim the excess dough to an even 1/2 inch all around. Take your second dough & roll out so it's, again, slightly bigger than your pie plate. Carefully transfer the second dough to a baking sheet. Put them both in the refigerator until you are ready to use them. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it begins foaming, stir in both sugars, cinnamon, allspice & nutmeg. Start adding in the apples, gently stir until they are coated. Cover with a lid & cook until the apples begin to soften & the liquid comes to a light boil.Stir in the flour & continue cooking until apples are almost tender. 5-10 minutes (you don't want your apples to get soggy). Remove from heat.Take the pie crusts out of the refigerator. Use a slotted spoon & transfer the apples into the pie dish. Once you've spooned all the apples into the dish, take about 1/4 cp of the liquid & drizzle over the apples.Cover the pie with the top pie crust. Turn under the edges & crimp closed.Lightly brush the top of the crust with the milk & sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cut four 2 inch slits in to the center of the crust to release steam.Bake for 20 minutes. Take pie out, reduce the heat to 325 F & cover the edges of the pie with foil to keep them from browning too quickly. Bake another 25 minutes (or until the juices are bubbling through the slits & the pie is a nice golden brown color).Let cool on a cooling rack. Wait to cut into the pie until the it has completely cooled. This allows the filling to set.Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & enjoy!Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Did you make this recipe & love it?
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Here are a couple other ideas for dessert:
One Comment
theresa gahman
Another great one Natalie!!!