Heather’s Favorite Apple Pie

Heather says:

I love this pie. I love it so much that I’m willing to deal with pie crust just to eat it.

Feel free to halve the recipe, if I go to the trouble to make one pie I go ahead and make a second for a friend.

• 14 apples, peeled, cored, sliced* (use Granny Smith or experiment with a mixture)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar – firmly packed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg – optional**
• Enough pie pastry for 2 double crusts – rolled out or unfolded
• ~ 2 TBSP water

*This is one of the rare times I’ll recommend a gadget. I love my apple peeling, slicing, coring tool. Go ahead and get one the next time you are guilted into attending one of those parties.

**Personally, I don’t care for nutmeg, I just want to let you know it is an option.

Place a pie crust in each plate. Slice the top crusts into 1/2″ wide strips, set aside.

Place the sliced apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and optional nutmeg. Sprinkle over the cut apples. Toss them to coat evenly.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat.  Slowly stir in the sugar and vanilla. Increase the heat to medium and stir slowly until the mixture comes to a boil. Add a few teaspoons of water if it looks really grainy, but remember some graininess is ok.

Pour almost all of the sauce over the apples, reserving 1/4 – 1/2 cup in the pan, set aside the remainder. Stir the apples well and pile into the pie plates. Mound it in the center.

Use the pie crust strips to create a lattice crust. To do this: start in the center and work toward the sides, lay strips about 3/4″ apart in one direction (horizontally). Turn the pie to begin the other direction (vertically). Fold every other strip back on itself. Lay one strip down near the center of the pie, unfold the folded strips and fold back the ones that were lying flat. Repeat until you reach the edge. Turn the pie and repeat for the other half. It is harder to explain than it is to do.

Add 1 – 2 TBSP water to the remaining sauce and stir over low heat. Once the sauce is thin enough to spread, use a pastry brush and apply to the lattice.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425F then reduce the heat to 350F and cook for 35 – 45 minutes. Make SURE you put a baking sheet under the pie, to catch any drips.

Enjoy.