Good Old Apple Pie

Written by Tom Fitzmorris September 14, 2015 09:01 in

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Regular Old-Style Apple Pie

The cool snap we just welcomed in New Orleans over the weekend gave me a hankering for apple pie. As famous and emblematic as that dessert is, it's something that very few restaurants serve anymore. I don't know why this is, but it is. So the only course was to do it myself and hope I don't eat the whole thing in a week. Although a homemade pie crust is the ultimate way to go, I 1) hate making pie dough and b) do so rather badly. It's no great sacrifice of flavor or texture to buy pre-made crust dough at the supermarket. For this recipe, I used Pillsbury's refrigerated crust, allowing it to soften by following the instructions on the box. Even though I don't win a medal for this, the pie came out exactly as I wanted it. The kind of apples used is important. The best are the big, rounded apples with skins that fade from red to green. I like Fuji apples, too. Red delicious is a bad choice. I'm not crazy about Granny Smith apples, either. As for the spices, I am beholden to old recipes that call for nutmeg, mace (which comes from the outside of the nutmeg) and allspice (which is not a bunch of spices mixed together but a pepper from Jamaica. All of these are in the spice rack in the supermarket. [caption id="attachment_48842" align="alignnone" width="480"]apple pie apple pie[/caption]
  • Prepared pie crusts, softened (as per box instructions)
  • 5-6 apples, peeled and cored, sliced about 1/4 in thick
  • 2/3 cup sugar (increase to 3/4 cup if the apples are very tart
  • 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. mace (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice (optional, but I like it)
  • 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 1. Center one of the softened pie crusts in an ungreased, nine-inch glass pie pan. Press it up against the bottom and sides of the pie pan. 2. Toss all the remaining ingredients in a big bowl until the apple slices have a uniform coating of cinnamon. Dump the apple mixture into the pie pan and scatter them evenly. 3. Place the second crust atop the first. Wrap the top crust around the edge of the bottom crust. (Since the bottom crust has more area to fill, the top crust will overlap it.) Press the edges of both crusts together, first with your fingers, then with a fork. 4. Punch five to ten holes randomly spaced in the top crust. Use your creativity as to shape. 5. Bake the pie in the center of the 425-degree oven. After 20 minutes, wrap two-inch-wide strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the pie. This will slow the baking of the edge, which will prevent it from getting too dry and dark. 6. Check the pie after about 35 minutes. I like my apple pie to have apples that are still a little firm. Completely soft apples get overly sweet and gooey. The range of time will vary from 35 to 45 minutes, but every oven is different. 7. When the pie is done to your liking, remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let it cool and firm up for two hours or longer before serving. Serves 6-8. [divider type=""]