Mmmm! Apple Pie!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll likely mention “comfort food” and fall recipes often. Fall is definitely our favourite season of the year! Liz and I love all the colours, the cooler but not yet cold temperature, and the food.
Perhaps one of the most iconic fall desserts is apple pie. It’s a part of almost every traditional Thanksgiving feast, both here in Canada and with our friends south of the border.
Apple Picking…
For the past three years, we’ve gone back to the same apple farm, not far from our house. This year we decided to try a new local organic farm that’s also close to home. The farm has a quaint entrance with a cute little bakery shop.
The rows of apple trees are surrounded by a colourful forest and the orchard is very easy to walk. The only problem was that we missed one detail on their website before heading over. It was their last weekend for apple picking. This meant that most trees were bare of apples, and the apples that were left were tiny. We had to walk a lot to fill our bag. Plus we didn’t have a lot of apple varieties left to choose from. Regardless, we had fun. You see, the thing about apple picking for us is that it’s not just about the apples. It’s a perfect excuse to get out with the family, get the kids off electronics, and enjoy a little fresh air and beautiful landscapes. Lucky for us, we had perfect fall weather – it was such a nice day!
Baking
Apple pie isn’t something you whip up in 10 minutes. It’s a labour of love. You start with a tender pie crust, then add quality apples mixed with delicious sweet ingredients and finish it by carefully assembling the pie. The smell of apple pie baking in the house is incredible and can’t be matched by artificial sprays or scented candles… I’ve even heard that baking cookies or pie before an open house can help a real estate agent sell a house 🙂
Get out there!
Get your family and friends out to enjoy some of this fantastic weather and amazing autumn colours… and then return home to enjoy a delicious homemade apple pie. Make the most of the season, and always eat well, friends!
- Pastry for double crust (see our recipe here)
- 3 Lbs Liberty (sweet and crisp) apples, cored, peeled and cut into small wedges (or any other baking apple like Cortland or Spartan). Note: the weight is measured after the apples are cored and peeled.
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 Tbs all purpose flour
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbs unsalted butter cut in thin slices
- Preheat to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, toss together the apples, sugar, maple syrup, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon juice.
- Roll out the first pie dough into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch thick. (This does not have to be a perfect circle).
- Place the first pie dough in a 9 inch pie dish.
- Use your fingers to fit the dough into the sides and bottom.
- Use scissors to cut around the overhanging dough, leaving roughly ½ inch of the dough hanging all around the pie dish.
- Using a fork, poke holes evenly across the bottom of the dough.
- Pour apple mixture into the middle of the pie dish and spread it around, leaving the mixture piled higher in the middle.
- Spread the thin slices of butter evenly over the top of the apple mixture.
- Roll the second pie dough into the same dimensions as the first.
- Cut the dough into strips and build a lattice over the pie with the strips. Here's an excellent lattice making tutorial by Adam and Joanne at Inspired Taste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKPbLXhAHbc.
- Using scissors, cut around the second dough strips to match the first overhanging dough.
- Press/lightly pinch the overhanging top and bottom edges of dough together all around to attach them.
- Fold the overhanging dough under the bottom edge of the bottom dough all around the pie dish to create a rounded edge.
- Flute the edge or use a fork to mark the edges all around to make it pretty.
- Beat the egg. Brush all over the dough and edges.
- Place the pie in the oven on the middle rack.
- Place an empty baking sheet on the rack below to catch any dripping that might come from the apple pie above.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 350°F and keep baking for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the pie crust is a beautiful golden colour. The filling should be bubbly.
- Place the pie dish on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve warm with your favourite ice cream.
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