I used three different recipes to make this pie. I prefer crumb topping, but you could always double the crust recipe to make a more traditional top.
Maria's Apple Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1¼ c. flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt kosher is best
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- 3 tbsp vegetable shortening (Crisco) chilled and cut into small cubes
- 4 tbsp ice water
Apple Filling
- 2 lbs Granny Smith apples sliced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ c, granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Crumb Topping
- ½ c. flour
- ½ c. packed brown sugar
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter chilled
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until blended. Add cut up butter and do 5 one-second pulses to mix in the butter. Add cold shortening and pulse again in small bursts until mixed, but don’t overdo it. Pour mixture into a bowl and sprinkle on the cold water. Mix, but again, don’t overdo it. The less you handle the crust the better. Stick it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap while you prep the filling.
- Slice the apples very thinly for even baking. Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples and mix. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and then add all at once to apples and mix well. Let sit for a little bit and then stir again so everything is coated.
- In another bowl, mix the flour and brown sugar together and cut in the butter with a pastry blender to create topping.
- Assemble the pie by rolling out the chilled crust and pressing it into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Add the apple filling and then gently top it with the crumb topping. Try to make it even so the center isn’t too much thicker than the sides. Place a cookie sheet under the pie so that when it cooks it doesn’t spill to the bottom of your oven. Cook for 1 hour at 375 degrees. Keep an eye on the crust so that it doesn’t burn. If it starts to, cover it with foil, but leave open the middle part.
- Remove from oven and let pie sit and cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
