Classic Apple Pie with Pre-Cooked Apple Filling
This is a recipe I found and use for Thanksgiving Apple Pie. It involves precooking your apple pie filling before baking. It is a great way to maintain the right consistency and to avoid a watery filling. This allows you to taste for sweetness and seasoning ahead of time. If your filling tastes good, the pie will be good.
Best Apples to use
Good choices both for taste and that hold together. You don’t want apple sauce: Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and Granny Smith. Do not use Red Delicious.
I normally use Honeycrisp for a sweet pie and Granny Smith for a tart one. There are folks that swear by the combination of both.
Ingredients
1 Perfect Pie Crust Recipe (Perfect Pie Crust)
Apple Pie Filling
4 pounds apples (about 8-9 large apples, see note above about recommended types of apples)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more if desired
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus more if desired
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, plus more if desired
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Additional
1 large egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream if you have it but do not buy just for a tablespoon, use whole milk
Coarse sugar
Preparation
Make the crust according to the perfect pie crust recipe.
Peel apples and cut out the core. Then cut into 1/4 inch slices. They should all be cut to the same size for even cooking. I use an apple corer and slicer that cuts the apple into 8 slices. I then slice in half once more.
In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and add the sliced apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook, stirring for about 10-15 minutes until apples have slightly softened but not lost their shape.
Sift and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch and mix (start with 1 tablespoon and add more if needed. The amount of cornstarch varies depending on the amount of juice released by the apples. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until juices thicken. If not thick enough, add more cornstarch at this time ( little by little, stirring). Note: sifting the cornstarch beforehand prevents clumps from forming. I use a small kitchen strainer.
Set aside and let cool to room temperature. If you want it to cool faster transfer it from the hot pan to a bowl.
After the filling has cooled down, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the remaining 1 tablespoon of cold butter into small cubes. Set aside.
Roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle using a rolling pin on a floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Repeat for the second disk.
Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Fill with the cooled apple pie filling and dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter cut into small cubes. Cover the pie with the second rolled out dough. Trim any overhang or excess dough. Seal edges with a fork or with your fingers. Make a few slits at the top to let the steam escape. If you would like a lattice top see the instructions below.
If your making a lattice top, refrigerate the pie for about 15-20 minutes. If not, skip this step.
Make the egg wash by whisking the egg with heavy cream or milk. Brush the pie dough with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
Place pie on a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F. Remove pie from oven and put a pie crust shield or cover edges with foil. Lower oven temperature to 375 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Let it cool on a wire rack for 3 hours before serving. If you cut into it before it has cooled down a bit, it will fall apart.
How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
A lattice pie crust is pretty and makes it easier for the steam to escape.
Roll out the second dough disk to a 12-inch circle. Cut 12 strips of equal width.
Lay each 6 strips, alternating, on top of the pie so that they are evenly spaced. Then fold back only 3 of those strips, alternating. Place another strip, from the remaining 6, perpendicular to the ones you folded back. Then fold those back into place.
Fold the other 3 strips back, and lay another strip, from the remaining 4, perpendicular on top. Then fold them back into place. Repeat until you finish using all the strips.
Keywords: dessert
