Homemade Classic Apple Pie with Lemon Butter Crust
How to make a simple, old-fashioned apple pie with a lemony butter pie crust. Don't fear the pie dough!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) grated fresh lemon zest
- 1 1/2 (180 g) sticks butter 12 tablespoons, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
for the filling:
- 3 pounds (1.40 kg) firm apples such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp about 6 or 7 apples
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and zest. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or a fork until the butter is pieces about the size of large peas. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and add the water and lemon juice.
- Blend with a fork until the dough starts to come together. If there's flour on the bottom of the bowl, add more water a teaspoon at a time until you can gather the dough into a ball. Divide into two pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten slightly to form a disc. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour and up to 24 hours.
- When you're ready to assemble and bake the pie, heat the oven to 425 (220) degrees. Take the pie dough out of the refrigerator to soften slightly while you prepare the apples. If it takes more than 15 minutes to deal with the apples, then put the dough back in the fridge until you're ready to fill the pie.
- Peel the apples if you want to: core and slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Put the slices in a bowl and toss with the flour.
- Mix together the sugar, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Smack one package of dough with a rolling pin to flatten. Unwrap and put the dough on a large floured piece of wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and roll the dough firmly away from you, turning the paper after each roll to create a circle about 2 inches larger than your pie dish. Sprinkle lightly with more flour if you notice the dough starting to stick.
- Fold the dough in half gently and place in a 9-inch pie dish, pressing into the bottom of the dish. Be sure you have an overhang of about an inch all around. Trim off any excess.
- Put a layer of apples on top of the dough in a concentric circle, starting at the outer edge. Sprinkle with sugar. Repeat the layering and sugaring 2 or 3 more times, until the apples are generously heaped to the top of the dish.
- Take the second piece of dough and repeat the rolling. Put the dough on top of the apples; pull the edge of the top dough over the bottom and pinch together all around the pie.
- Use a sharp knife to make 4 vents in the center of the pie.
- Put the pie in the oven and turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake the pie 50 - 55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the juices are bubbling.
- Cool the pie before slicing to allow the juices to settle. Yum.
Notes
- For best results, let the pie cool completely before slicing — at least 4 hours and preferably overnight — to allow the natural apple pectin to thicken and gel. Cutting directly into a freshly baked, warm pie is tempting, but it won't be set properly.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 483kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 4gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 474mgFiber: 6gSugar: 48g