How To Make Apple Pie

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Tips From The Betty Crocker Kitchens

How To Make Apple Pie From Scratch Easy Simple
  • tip 1 Lay a sheet of foil on lower oven rack below pie pan in case of boil overs.
  • tip 2 Have a foil collar or aluminum pastry shield at the ready to prevent over-browning around the top edges of the pastry. You dont want to under bake the pie or you may have a gummy bottom crust.
  • tip 3 If you make pie pastry from scratch, youve got choices for the fatshortening, lard, or butter. The pure fat of shortening or lard gives you some leeway as you handle them in a dough, as they stay hard longer when working them with warm hands. But butter offers a flavor boost you cant beat, plus the fact that the water in it is released as steam as it melts, helping create a flakier crust.
  • tip 4 For a glazy top crust, brush with milk or cream and sprinkle on some sparkly sugar before sliding it into the oven. Use small cookie cutters to cut out shapes from top crust before placing it on filling or use a small paring knife to cut slits to create vents to release steam.
  • tip 5 For a nice defined crimped crust, lay the top pastry over the apple filling and press it firmly against the overhang of the bottom crust. Fold the pastry together and over to build up an even ridge of dough. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to mark evenly spaced sections to twist with your fingers into a decorative edge.
  • tip 6 Jump-start your pie baking by using Betty Crocker pie crust mix. Just add water and stir the dough is ready in 5 minutes.

The Perfect Pie Crust

A great apple pie starts with an amazing pie crust. We love to use either this all-butter pie crust or our sourdough pie crust. Each of these pie crust use butter and just a little bit of vinegar to produce a tender, flaky pie crust that just can’t be beat!

The crust can be made a few days in advance and kept in the fridge or frozen until ready to assemble your apple pie.

If you decide to use a store-bought crust, make sure to follow the directions on the packaging to determine when to take the crust out of the fridge in order to handle it more easily.

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If the crust looks like it’s getting too browned, take a large piece of aluminum foil and place on top of the pie in the oven. No need to wrap it around the pie, just place it on top. That will keep the top from browning further.

Pies always seem to take longer to cook than one expects. The filling should be visibly bubbling, which you should be able to see through the steam vents.

I recommend putting a rimmed baking sheet on a rack beneath the rack of the pie to catch the filling as some of it invariably bubbles up and out over the pie. Makes oven clean-up a lot easier.

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Keys Steps For An Easy Apple Pie

Toss the apples with sugar, then drain. After peeling and slicing your apples, you want to toss them with sugar and set them aside to soften and drain. This step makes the apples more tender and prevents a soggy crust. But its faster than pre-cooking them on the stove, and they also maintain their shape. You can discard the liquid they release, or save it for cocktail-making . After draining, toss the apples with cinnamon, cornstarch, and a pinch of cardamom.

Brush the inside of the crust with egg wash. Youre probably familiar with egg wash as a way to make the exterior of your baked goods more golden and a bit shiny, but adding a layer of egg wash to the interior of the pie crust before filling it creates a protective layer that will keep the apples juices from destroying your crust. Speaking of crust, store-bought crust really is ideal here. These are Kitchns favorite pie crusts from the store.

Layer the apples inside the crust. Instead of dumping the apples in, spend a few minutes laying and stacking the apple slices. It seems fussy, but its actually ingenious: This will help you avoid large gaps, which means youre less likely to get a shrunken filling and domed crust. Keep layering until the apples are slightly taller than the pie pan.

Bake your pie on a preheated baking sheet. Jumpstart the baking process by preheating a baking sheet, then slide your pie onto it to bake. This makes the bottom crust extra crisp and helps speed up the baking process.

Tips For Apple Pie Filling

How to Make Apple Pie
  • You can cut your apples into any size or shape that you like, just be sure to cut them uniformly so that they all cook at the same rate.
  • Freshly grated nutmeg has so much more flavor than the pre-ground variety. Whole nutmegs keep for years when stored in a cool dry location, so buy a bottle and shave off a little nutmeg as needed for your dishes.
  • I use butter in this pie filling because it makes the finished product taste a little richer. You can omit it if you prefer.
  • Homemade apple pie filling can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months

Now that Ive had homemade apple pie filling, Ill never be able to go back to the store bought kind. The flavor of this version is SO much better, so even if you have to cheat and use a pre-made pie crust like I do, youll still end up with an amazing pie.

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How To Make Perfect Homemade Apple Pie

Its taken us a while to zero in on our favorite method for making apple pie, but I think weve finally nailed it. This simple recipe guarantees perfectly cooked apples surrounded with a thick gently spiced sauce. Theres no need for precooking the sauce or apples and the steps to make this pie are simple, you just need a little time.

As with all of the pie recipes on Inspired Taste, we start with this homemade pie crust. Im a stickler on this one. It has never failed us and is our go-to recipe for pumpkin pie, tarts, and other fruit pies like blueberry pie.

You can make the crust in advance. It can be refrigerated or frozen. Definitely check our pie crust recipe for our tips on making it .

As for the apples, we use a lot of them and like to use two or more varieties for the most apple-flavored pie. Ive listed some of our favorites below. It isnt a complete list, but it should give you some inspiration when shopping for your homemade pie. If you find yourself with extra apples, try making homemade applesauce!

We dont precook the apples before adding them to the crust.

Instead, we toss peeled and sliced apples with sugar, salt, and spices in a large bowl. When the apples are well coated, we set the bowl aside and let the apples sit for about an hour.

In this hour, the sugar and salt work on the apples to help them release their delicious liquid . The apples also soften quite a bit. We do this when making apple bread, too.

What Are The Best Apples To Use For Pies

Try to find a firm apple to use in this recipe. I like a mix between sweet and sour apples. You can use Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Winesap, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Gala, or Rome Beauty. I used a mix between Golden Delicious and some kind of tart firm apples from our trees for this pie, and it was great. Its very forgiving, so experiment!

  • Granny Smith Tart, green, flavorful, and perfect for apple pie
  • Jonathan red on yellow, bright flavor, and juicy
  • Golden Delicious Softer, sweet, and yellow in color
  • Gala light red, crispy, and mildly sweet

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What Kind Of Apples Are Best For Apple Pie

For apple pie, you want apples that will hold their shape and have a nice well rounded flavor. I use Granny Smith apples for this apple pie filling because they stay firm after being cooked and they have a tart flavor that works well with the sweetness of the brown sugar. You can use other apple varieties for this recipe, such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious and Braeburn apples.

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How to Make Our Favorite Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch

Theres no fall treat more iconic than the apple pie. Who doesnt love going to their local apple picking farm, getting crisp apples and combining them with warming cinnamon and buttery pastry? Because this fall dessert is so beloved, its one home bakers should try to master. If baking pies is intimidating to you, have no fearwell walk you through how to make the perfect apple pie step by step.

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How To Make Apple Pie From Scratch

To make the best apple pie, youve got to start with a top-rated recipe, like this apple pie recipe from Maggie Greene, a reader in Granite Falls, Washington. Heres what youll need to make this pie.

What You Need for Homemade Pie Crust

Youll need a good foundation for this pie. We recommend our Test Kitchens favorite butter pie pastry.

  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cold butter, cubed
  • 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water

Ingredients for the Apple Pie Filling

  • 1/2 cup sugar

Our Favorite Tools To Make Pie:

You dont need fancy equipment to make a pie. If you dont have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour until it forms pea-sized crumbles, then add 6-8 Tbsp ice-cold water, folding it in with a spatula between each addition. Its easy as pie! Here are our favorite pie-making tools to make the job easier:

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More Baking Tips For Apple Pie

  • Use a trusted pie crust recipe. We always use this homemade pie crust recipe for our pies.
  • Prepare the apple pie filling first and set it aside for 1 hour, allowing the apples to release their juices then mix the apples and the juices with a thickener like cornstarch or tapioca starch.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 75 minutes, turning a few times for even browning. The long bake time makes sure that the filling thickens inside the pie.
  • If your crust starts to brown too quickly or looks to be turning too dark, mold a large piece of foil over a bowl thats been placed upside down to make a foil dome. Place the foil dome over the pie for the remaining bake time. This will slow the browning.
  • Let apple pie cool before cutting into it. For the best results, the filling should be room temperature or cold before slicing. Cooling the pie gives the liquid inside a chance to thicken even more, which means it wont spill out into a pool when you cut into the pie.

How Do You Make Homemade Apple Pie Filling From Scratch

Homemade Apple Pie: Easy Recipe and How to Make a Perfect ...

This is one of the easiest recipes you can make.

  • Prepare the ingredients: First, start by gathering all the ingredients, and by prepping the apples for the recipe. You have to add them to a large bowl and drizzle the lemon juice on top, add the zest and toss to combine.
  • Make the sauce: Simply, add the water, sugars, cornstarch, and spices to a saucepan, whisk and cook stirring occasionally over medium heat.
  • Cook the apples: Then, and the apples, stir and cook them until tender but not mushy.
  • Butter: Remove from heat and immediately stir in the butter if using.
  • Cool: Finally, let the mixture cool and store or use as needed.
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    How To Make Apple Pie Filling From Scratch

    This isn’t a very complicated task. Essentially, apples are peeled and sliced, then mixed together with a few ingredients on the stove. They’re cooked until softened, and then a cornstarch slurry is added to thicken them up! Overall you’ll find this recipe very simple, but there are a few tricks you should follow to ensure you get the best flavor in your filling.

    The first is that the recipe calls to macerate the apples for about 15 minutes. This helps bring out some of the natural juices in the apples, so the apples are a bit more firm.

    Secondly, there is apple cider added into the mixture. This not only adds a boost of apple flavor to the filling, but it also adds in extra sauce around the apples. I just love that apple sauce that surrounds the apple slices, and this ensures it’s plentiful.

    And finally, the cornstarch is added later in the cooking process. I prefer to cook the apples to the correct consistency first, and then add the cornstarch to thicken it up. If the cornstarch is added in at the beginning, it can become a little thick or gloopy and possibly even burn, so I like to add it in right at the end, once the apples have fully cooked.

    At the very end of the cooking process, some butter and vanilla are folded into the hot mixture. The butter adds a delicious richness, and the vanilla adds a depth of flavor that complements the apples very nicely.

    The Best Apples For Apple Pie

    Apple pie is the perfect vessel for using up whatever random variety of apples you got from the market or while apple picking. In fact, a combination of sweet and tart apples makes for a more balanced pie filling. Granny Smith and Jonagold are ideal tart apples for baking, while Pink Lady, Gala, and Honey Crisp are sweet. All of these varieties also keep their shape as they bake.

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    How To Store Apple Quesadillas

    If you have leftover quesadillas or made a big batch you have several ways to store them.

    The best way to store them is uncut then you do not have to worry about filling falling out.

    In all cases let them cool completely before storing:

    • Refrigerator you can either store the apple pie filling in an airtight food container and keep the tortillas separate. When you have leftover quesadillas store the complete quesadillas in a food container for up to 2 days
    • Freezer if you want to keep them longer you can store them in the freezer. Store in a freezer-friendly food container and store up to 3 months

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