Pi Day: Easy as Apple Pie


Apple, Fruit, Holiday, Pie, Recipes / Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

If you’re like me, you don’t really ever need a “reason” to make pie. I mean, I make it for fun, because it sounds good, because I need to use up apples or free up freezer space during berry-picking season. I make it for the hell of it, because I just WANT some, because it’s a holiday or we’re getting together with friends. I make it to give away to friends who come over to help cut up a tree that’s come down, to neighbors who’ve been so generous with us, to family who live too far away to have my pies on a regular basis.

This is all just to say, I make pies. A lot. And I don’t need a special day to make one. But, all the same, when a special day comes along—especially a geeky one that my nerdy heart can’t help but love—well, then, I HAVE no choice but to participate. ESPECIALLY if I have a pie plate made JUST for said occasion.

pi pie plate
Yes, I have a pi pie plate. What? You don’t?

To celebrate this Pi Day, I’m giving you the whole kit and kaboodle. On Monday, I posted my very favorite Everyday Flaky Pie Crust recipe. This is my go-to, my never fail recipe, and now it can be yours, too. Pair it with this crazy-easy-OMG-delicious apple pie recipe and you may just turn into a pie-making machine, too.

butter cinnamon sugar flour

My grandmother was an apple pie maker extraordinaire, and perhaps I have worked so hard to make great apple pies in her honor, to become a part of her pie-making legacy. Or maybe it’s just because I love good apple pie. I wish I could tell you that I was handing down my grandmother’s fabulous tried-and-true recipe today, but unfortunately for me, the secret died with her.

However, I’m fairly certain my grandmother would be impressed with the recipe I use (and, heck, maybe she’d even try it out herself). It’s that good. Truly.

cinnamon butter flour sugar

This is where I should tell you that this recipe works equally well for blueberry pie, black raspberry pie, peach pie, and I’m sure many more that I haven’t yet thought to try, and I will be posting a separate berry version of it, for sure. I ADORE this recipe. It’s versatile, it’s easy, it only requires one crust (hello, less work), and is oh-so-delicioso. I stumbled on it years ago when I had a freezer full of black raspberries and no clue how to make a black raspberry pie. That pie turned out soooooo good, and I thought, Hmmm, I bet this would work for apple pie if I added a little cinnamon.

Oh, man, does it. I have my culinarily BRILLIANT moments, I tell you.

apples cutting board peeler

Though, I have to admit that I wasn’t brilliant enough to come up with this recipe on my own. But I’ve had it so long that I have no clue where I found it online. So, while I’d love to give credit where credit is due, I’m at a loss because I haven’t been able to find it again. So—full disclosure—I didn’t create it and I didn’t even have to tweak it much, though I did come up with amounts for a deep dish pie because I do love me some thick fruit pies.

apples lemon juice crust

One of my absolute requirements for apple pie (and really any fruit pie) is that there must be some tart with the sweet. Apple pies that have no zing to them are flavorfully flat, and I always feel what’s the point of eating something like that? Gah. So, depending on the apples I use, I (almost) always add lemon juice. The sweeter the apples I’m using, the more lemon juice I pour on. The more tart, the less I use.

apples crumb topping cinnamon sugar crust lemon juice
The first layer of apples with half the crumb mixture on. Before shaking.
apples cinnamon crumb filling crust lemon juice
After shaking.

You can use any kind of apple, but you’ll get the best results from those that soften with baking. Super crisp apples—like Honeycrisp and Evercrisp (my personal apple-snacking fave)—do not work well because they don’t soften and release their juices (or, if they do, it takes forever and then some). Most other apples will work great, so go with what you have on hand or find readily at your grocery store. You can use a variety of kinds or stick to just one. Totally up to you.

apples lemon juice crust crumb filling
Layer two. Piled high as I am wont to do.

If you must have apple suggestions, then I’d say Cortland, McIntosh, Empire, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Macoun, Cameo, and Granny Smiths are all great choices. The harder apples, like Granny Smiths, may take longer to cook, so keep that in mind. But truly, any apple, outside of the two I mentioned above, will turn into fabulous pie.

apples pie crumb topping crust
Yeah, I’m not kidding when I say I overfill my pies. Who’s surprised that mine ALWAYS run over in the oven?

Since I included both a regular 9-inch and the 9- to 10-inch deep dish pie crust recipes, I’ve written up the recipes for both a regular and deep dish apple pie below (so you don’t have to do the math—you’re welcome).

A few pie-related hints:

  • Bake the pie until you see that the juices have thickened and are bubbly, otherwise you’ll have a runny pie. Even if it takes more time than the recipe says, keep it in the oven. If you’re worried about overbaking it, you can turn off the oven and just leave the pie in it while it cools down. I’ve done that occasionally, and it works beautifully.
  • If you get into the habit, as I am, of overfilling your pie, the juices are guaranteed to spill over, so either cook your pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet or place foil on the rack below (turn up the edges so it doesn’t run off the foil) to prevent them from dripping onto your oven floor and burning.
  • When the juices start to spill over, your pie is either done or just about done. Check for that thick bubbling around the edges to be sure.
  • I don’t cover the crust with foil because I haven’t had an issue with it getting too dark. Or maybe I don’t mind a browner crust? I don’t know. The photo at the top of this post shows the baked crust. If you want something lighter or feel the need to cover the edges of the crust, go for it.

apples crumb topping crust pie pi day

Happy Pi Day, my friends! Hope yours is as delicious as mine.

And don’t forget that St. Patrick’s Day is three days away, which gives you plenty of time to get your Irish on and whip up some of Bec’s fabulous Irish Soda Bread Muffins (that are getting RAVE reviews from all of our friends who’ve already made them since the recipe was posted yesterday) as well as a batch (or two—no one would fault you) of my Decadently Delicious Beer Brownies.

Get baking!

apples sugar cinnamon crust butter

Easy as Apple Pie

A ridiculously easy, scrumptious apple pie.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch pie shell (see our Everyday Flaky Pie crust recipe)
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 to 5 medium apples, peeled and sliced
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice (or more or less, depending on your preference)

Instructions

  • Make your pie crust and set aside.
  • Combine the butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Using either a fork or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a fine crumb mixture. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 425 F/ 218 C.
  • Peel and slice your apples. Place half of the apples in the unbaked pie shell, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or more or less, depending on your taste preference and how sweet or tart your apples are). Cover with half of the crumb mixture. Gently shake the crumb mixture down into the crevices between the apples, turning the pie a couple of times and shaking again to get it well distributed.
  • Place the rest of the apples on top, pour another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over them, and cover with the remaining crumb mixture.
  • Bake at 425 F/ 218 C for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 F/ 177 C and bake for another 45-50 minutes, until thick and bubbly around the edges.
  • Let cool completely before slicing. Store, loosely covered with foil or plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. 

 

apples sugar cinnamon crust butter

Easy as Apple Pie (Deep Dish)

A ridiculously easy, scrumptious apple pie...deep dish style.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Dessert

Ingredients

  • 1 deep dish pie crust (see our Everyday Flaky Pie Crust recipe)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 5 to 7 medium apples, peeled and sliced
  • 3 to 6 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

  • Make your pie crust and set aside.
  • Combine the butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Using either a fork or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a fine crumb mixture. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 425 F/ 218 C.
  • Peel and slice your apples. Place half of the apples in the unbaked pie shell, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or more or less, depending on your taste preference and how sweet or tart your apples are). Cover with half of the crumb mixture. Gently shake the crumb mixture down into the crevices between the apples, turning the pie a couple of times and shaking again to get it well distributed.
  • Place the rest of the apples on top, pour another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over them, and cover with the remaining crumb mixture.
  • Bake at 425 F/ 218 C for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 F/ 177 C and bake for another 65-80 minutes, or longer, until thick and bubbly around the edges.
  • Let cool completely before slicing. Store, loosely covered with foil or plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

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