Classic Apple Pie

If I had to point to a single recipe that brought out the baker in me, this would be it!

Growing up, I loved helping my mom in the kitchen, especially around the holidays. One Thanksgiving I volunteered to make the pies. Where Mom rallied the courage to trust me with something as crucial as the Thanksgiving pies, I will never know. But fortunately, they were fabulous! I spent all day Wednesday knee-deep in pie dough and crimping to my heart's content. And thus, Pie Day (aka my favorite day of the year) was born.

Everyone has their favorite Thanksgiving pie. For my husband, it's my Pumpkin Pie. My dad favors nutty pecan pie. For me and my mom, it's this Apple Pie - hands down.

Classic Apple Pie

Ingredients

For the crust

· 2 ½ cup flour

· ½ tsp salt

· 1 tsp cinnamon

· 10 tbsp butter, cubed and chilled

· ½ cup shortening, cubed and chilled

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

· ½ tsp almond extract

· 4 tbsp ice water

For the filling

· 5 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced thin

· 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin

· 1/3 cup sugar

· 1/3 cup brown sugar

· Juice of ½ lemon

· 1 tbsp flour

· 1 tsp cinnamon

· ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

· 1 egg

For the crust, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add extracts. Gradually add the water, and pulse until dough begins to form clumps and pulls away from the bowl. Dough should be smooth to the touch and hold together when gently pinched in between fingers. If the dough is too dry, slowly add water one teaspoon at a time.

Pour the dough onto a counter covered in a sheet of plastic wrap. For the dough into two equal balls. Press each ball into a disk. Wrap each disk individually in plastic. Chill for at least one hour or up to a day before baking.

While the dough chills, prepare the filling. Combine the apples, sugars, lemon juice, flour and spices in a large mixing bowl. Mix until apples are evenly coated in sugar. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a deep, 9in pie dish.

Remove the pie crusts from the fridge. Lightly flour your work surface, rolling pin, and each piece of pie dough. Roll each disk into an even 12-13in circle. Work quickly so the butter remains cold.

Transfer one pie crust to the pie pan. Drape any excess dough over the edge of the pan. Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Carefully place the remaining dough disk over top of the apples. Using a butter knife, cut away any excess dough so that the crust meets the outer lip of the pan. Gently press the top crust to the bottom crust. Tuck the crust under itself to form a neat edge. Crimp the edge with your fingers or fork for a decorative border. Using a small paring knife, cut 3 1/2in incisions in the center of the pie to vent during baking.

Whisk together the egg with a splash of water. Brush the top of the pie crust. Do not drip down the edges of the pan otherwise the pie will stick. Place pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Drop the oven temperature to 375F. Bake for 2 hours. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Allow to cool before serving.

Serves 8

Notes

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or serve chilled with whipped cream.

Gluten Free Friendly!

For this recipe, subbing Cup4Cup made a super flaky crust. Without gluten, the dough is a bit more brittle. Roll the dough onto floured sheets of parchment for easy transfer to the pie dish.