Fall is definitely in the air here in the Willamette Valley. The night temperatures have been in the mid-40’s and the leaves are turning orange and brown to mark the season. The kids are already asking for flannel sheets to be put on their beds. I don’t blame them, it’s cold at night.
Well nothing screams Fall more than Apple Pie baking in the oven. I also like to top it off with Maple Whipped Cream.
Everyone makes their own version of apple pie and of course we all think ours is the best. I believe it’s one of the most satisfying comfort foods around and I love it any time of the year.
Hopefully it has cooled off in your neck of the woods so you too can put an apple pie in the oven.
For the crust…add 2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour to a bowl; mix 1 teaspoon salt through it. Add 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter flavored Crisco into the flour.
Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in shortening until particles are the size of giant peas. Sprinkle with cold water, one Tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork, until all flour is moistened.
Gather dough together with fingers so it cleans the bowl. Press firmly into a ball. Turn out lightly onto a wax paper covered board. Divide the dough in half with a knife and set one half aside.
Flatten dough with your hand and place a piece of wax paper on top (not necessary if you have a stockinet on your rolling pin). Roll out not quite 1/8″ thick. Roll lightly. By using wax paper or a stockinet on your rolling pin, this will prevent you from adding extra flour to the dough, making it tough. Keep rounding the edge of the pastry. If it begins to break, pinch broken edges together immediately.
Keep pastry circular and roll it about 1″ larger all around than inverted pie pan.
Fold pastry in half. When you roll out the top crust only, make three slits in the dough. This allows the steam to escape while baking. Do not make slits in the bottom crust!
Carefully transfer the pastry to a pie pan. Unfold and ease pastry loosely into pan, being careful not to stretch. (Stretching causes pastry to shrink during baking.)
For the filling…place apple slices in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and sprinkle over the apples. Using your hands, turn to coat. Pile the apple mixture into the pie shell, mounding it in the center. Dot with 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces.
Roll out the second ball of dough for the top of the pie just as you did the first. Don’t forget to make the slits. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from the rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Cover edge with 2-3 inch strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking.
Serve with Maple Whipped Cream…recipe below.
Happy Fall!
Apple Pie
Adapted from a million recipes over the years
For the pastry, makes two 9″ pie crusts:
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter flavored Crisco
1/4 cup water, cold
For the filling:
8 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, cored and cut lengthwise into slices 1/4″ thick
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the crust…add 2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour to a bowl; mix 1 teaspoon salt through it. Add 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter flavored Crisco into the flour.
Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in shortening until particles are the size of giant peas. Sprinkle with cold water, one Tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork, until all flour is moistened.
Gather dough together with fingers so it cleans the bowl. Press firmly into a ball. Turn out lightly onto a wax paper covered board. Divide the dough in half with a knife and set one half aside.
Flatten dough with your hand and place a piece of wax paper on top (not necessary if you have a stockinet on your rolling pin). Roll out not quite 1/8″ thick. Roll lightly. By using wax paper or a stockinet on your rolling pin, this will prevent you from adding extra flour to the dough, making it tough. Keep rounding the edge of the pastry. If it begins to break, pinch broken edges together immediately.
Keep pastry circular and roll it about 1″ larger all around than inverted pie pan.
Fold pastry in half. When you roll out the top crust only, make three slits in the dough. This allows the steam to escape while baking. Do not make slits in the bottom crust!
Carefully transfer the pastry to a pie pan. Unfold and ease pastry loosely into pan, being careful not to stretch. (Stretching causes pastry to shrink during baking.)
For the filling…place apple slices in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and sprinkle over the apples. Using your hands, turn to coat. Pile the apple mixture into the pie shell, mounding it in the center. Dot with 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces.
Roll out the second ball of dough for the top of the pie just as you did the first. Don’t forget to make the slits. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from the rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Cover edge with 2-3 inch strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking.
Maple Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
In a medium-sized bowl and cream and maple syrup. Beat until soft peaks form.
Serve with apple pie.
Egghead says
Oh Cathy my son would love you. His favorite pie next to huckleberry is apple. I might just try that maple whip cream. Very interesting.
Vickie Fears says
W-O-W is my mouth watering. That looks so yummy! I will definitely have to be making your pie this week!!!
Julia says
Your version of apple pie looks great! I think the secret to the best apple pie is the choice of apple. I’ll be going apple picking next weekend so it will be fun to experiment.
Ms Whit says
Such a delicious looking pie. i love to bake anything with apples. I like the fall season too, the bright colored leaves, apples, pumpkins, etc. I live in a farm area and the dried corn stacks, cotton and peanuts smells fill the air. It’s just a wonderful time of year.
Marjie says
My mother in law is reputed to have made the best apple pie the world has ever known. I am a bit intimidated by the thought of living up to this story. I will probably try apple pie before the season is over. But you know the story of me trying to learn pie crust, right? So maybe I’ll learn apple pie before I’m done.
Never tried adding maple syrup to my whipped cream. My hubby won’t eat anything but fresh whipped cream now; I have spoiled him. I’ll have to try your variation, since he’s a maple fanatic!
Ginny says
oh, apple pie is always the way to go! 🙂
Barbie with a T says
Pie making is very intimidating to me, especially a two crust pie. It looks very tempting, but I bet I would screw it up. I can bake pecan pies and pumpkin pies okay, because there is only one crust, and I usually buy a pre-made crust. My husband would love for me to make fruit pies, but it just takes a certain talent that I feel I do not have. But fall is approaching, and apple pie says COMFORT in every respect.
Your photos are so perfect…I can almost taste the pie looking at the photos.
gfe--gluten free easily says
Oh, how yummy! Maple whipped cream is pure genius, Cathy. 🙂 BTW, I had bacon whipped cream on mushroom soup at BlogHer Food 09 yesterday–out of this world!
We already have a thinner set of flannel sheets on our bed. 😉
Shirley
Danielle says
This looks scrumptious! I haven’t made one is quite some time…but maybe this will be the year to start again!
Donna says
This looks like a slice of Heaven. Love the idea of pairing it with Maple whipped cream. Ill try that next time.
Lea Ann says
Cathy, I haven’t had apple pie in years, this looks so good. The whipped cream looks fab.
Thanks for the post
Lea Ann
Audrey at Barking Mad says
We picked 45lbs of apples yesterday and not a single one was a Granny Smith! They had already been picked clean off of every branch. Got lots of Macs, Cortlands, and Honey Crisps.
I wish I liked apple pie, because this recipe looks so yummy!
Kate says
When I can eat rich foods again, I am going to make my homemade apple pie and your maple cream. Oh, yes.
Jennifer says
Maple whipped cream sounds insanely divine.
elra says
Well,
I just thought that I can start dieting, but then this Maple whipped cream is calling, sigh….
Look gorgeous and sounds delicious btw.
Daily Diner says
YUM
candice says
You have some VERY VERY lucky kids!!! Looks amazing 🙂
Pam says
The perfect pie – I am LOVING the maple whipped cream.
Kim Living Life says
Yum scrumptious what a fantastic looking pie. It’s the beginning of Spring here in Australia so not to hot for apple pie yet. The pastry looks amazing.
Liz C. says
I love apple pie & always like to throw in at least one sliced pear. Yours looks divine! And, of all the calorie heavy desserts, this is actually not too terribly wicked. The whipped cream sounds heavenly, but deadly to a diet so I’d have to pass. Besides, I’d rather have my Lite Cool Whip than nothing at all…
Lovely recipe, my dear!
Mental P Mama says
I would like that right now with my coffee. Thank you.
Barbara says
Yum, yum, yum. Apple pie. Love the maple topping too!
kellypea says
Yay for Fall! Now if our weather down here would cooperate all would be well. Yum on the apple pie. It’s been a while since I made one and this recipe sounds delish.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
Mmm… apple pie sounds wonderful especially with the Maple Whipped Cream!
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
You make apple pie just the way I like it. It’s perfect. What a crust!
Al W says
That is very funny, the first post after “The 11 Day, Fit In Your Jeans Again, Diet”, is apple pie.
Biz says
Heaven on a plate! Apple pie is my favorite one – my dad used to melt cheddar cheese on the top of his when I was little. I thought he was crazy at the time, but it is devine!
Also, a few years back I switched my apples to Fuji apples and have not used a different apple since – they retain their shape and are always sweet.
Hope you had a great weekend – I am loving this cool weather!
Marjie says
Your opening paragraph reminded me: did your kids ever play Oregon Trail, or is that just way too passe? They’d be tickled to have landed in Wilamette Valley if they had.
Paula says
Mmmm … pie and whipped cream! Even better, it’s apple pie and maple whipped cream! YUM! Your pastry decorations are lovely. It’s been so long since I’ve made a pie, perhaps this Fall will be the time to try it again. I also love those dutch apple pies with the crumb topping, too.
Fencepost says
It doesn’t have to be cold for me to crave apple pie. I love it!!!
But for some reason it tastes better in the fall.
The Duo Dishes says
The best part of a pie is the crust. Yours looks super flakey. We’re good at crusts too, and it’s amazing how addictive it is to eat it up.
grace says
always a classic indeed, and i suspect it’ll always top my list of favorite desserts. i like that you use crisco in your crust, and that maple cream sounds like an amazing topper!
Mary says
Your pie crust should be featured on the cover of every cooking magazine in the country. Very, Very nice!
Bob says
That looks wicked good. I love pie. This is my favorite time of year. 😀
BethieofVA says
I should make this for my poor husband. He has asked for an apple pie several times and I just blew him off, not one of my favorites. LOL! I am sure yours is fantastic.
Marlene says
I haven’t mastered pie crusts yet, but I am determined to get it right…maybe this recipe will help me along. I am making an apple crisp today to honor the cooler temps!
KathyB. says
Apple pie, nothing says Autumn like the scent of it baking in the oven as you come in from the lovely crisp fall weather outside. Our weather is pretty much the same as yours and the apple trees are groaning with all the weight of ripening apples, so I have a lot of apple pie and apple sauce, and apple crumble to make!
pam says
I wish I had a version of an apple pie. I’ve only made one in my life.
Miss Meat and Potatoes says
My husband has been begging for a pie and this might have to be it (he’ll want something with chocolate – but beggars can’t be choosers;)
Gorgeous and quintessentially fall as you said!
Stacey Snacks says
Cath,
Is this part of the “fit in your jeans diet?”.
Your pie crust looks heavenly, and I was just browsing your site for your apple bar recipe!
unconfidentialcook says
I’m not a big pie person, but this is a beauty, especially with that whipped cream!
Cathy says
I just want to mention, it’s SO NOT FAIR for you to put up that recipe .. WITH heavy whipping cream involved right after your 11 Days to Fit Into Your Jeans Diet!! Maybe some of us really ARE trying to fit in our jeans and maybe some of us really cant resist something that looks THAT good! Uncool! :0) We have a family dinner coming up, I’ll have to try this one!
Leslie says
Oh how I wish it was cold here! Stillin the mid to upper 90’s!
Gotta love apple pie..never meet anyone who didnt(or maybe I just chose not to be their friend!!lol)
lisaiscooking says
I am so ready for an apple pie! This has convinced me I need to get baking.
Lisa says
Yum! You can’t beat Apple Pie and that Maple Whipped Cream sounds like a great topping!