The Best Apple Pie

star rating (11) rate this recipe »
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The Best Apple Pie

star rating (11) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

We've made many apple pies over the years, and this is our favorite—so far. The experimenting is so much fun, we'll probably just keep tinkering forever!

Crust
2 cups (8 ounces) King Arthur Mellow Pastry Blend or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
heaping 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
3 to 5 tablespoons (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounces) ice water

Filling
3 1/4 pounds (about 9 whole apples, 10 cups) Cortland or other baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
1/4 cup (2 ounces) boiled cider
1 tablespoon rum (optional)
1/4 cup (1 5/8 ounces) King Arthur Pie Filling Enhancer
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

To make the crust: Whisk together the flour and salt, then cut in the butter until crumbly. Drizzle just enough water over the mixture to make it cohesive, tossing till it begins to come together. Gather it into a ball, divide in half, flatten each half slightly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, covered.

For the filling: In a large bowl, stir together the filling ingredients, mixing till well-combined. Set aside.

Assembly: Roll one piece of pie crust into a 12-inch round, and lay it gently into a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in the filling. Roll out the other piece (or make a lattice), lay it atop the filling, and seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle it with coarse sugar, if desired. Or, save out a bit of the crust, and cut decorative leaf designs, laying them in the center of the crust or around the edges.

Baking: Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375°F, and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until the top is brown and filling is bubbly. Yield: 1 pie, about 10 servings.

Reviews

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  • 11/21/2011
  • Krissy from Lakewood, Colorado
  • I am going to try this for Thanksgiving but have a question. I normally cook my apples for 15 minutes on the stove before putting them in the pie - I do not like crunchy/firm apples in my pie. Can I do this with this recipe? Would I just cook the apples with the sugar, pie spice, enhancer and salt (maybe a little butter too??) - then add the cider, vanilla and lemon juice when I take the apples off the stove? Or do the instructions as they are yield a softer apple? Thanks, Krissy
    I would still cook your apples since you prefer them to be soft, but not for 15 minutes. I would say 5-10 minutes would be plenty. The method you describe above is fine. ~Amy
  • star rating 11/09/2011
  • cathy3925 from KAF Community
  • This is THE BEST pie. I've made this twice and my husband swears that it's the best pie he's ever had, hands down. One caveat: I used regular apple cider, but I plan to order the boiled cider and try it. Also, I urge other KA bakers to give unusual apples a try. We visited a local orchard, where the owner urged us to buy his Bramley's Seedling apples. He said they were the best baking apple he'd ever tasted. He was right.
  • star rating 04/03/2011
  • lizard2186 from KAF Community
  • I have made this pie twice, and it is now my go-to apple pie recipe. The filling has such a good, complex flavor to it, it's wonderful. I use my own pie crust recipe and have been looking for the right filling for years, and this is just wonderful. The only change I have made is to add a bit of extra cinnamon and sugar because I use Granny Smith apples, which are more tart than a lot of other apples suitable for baking. I feel like I have my recipe now for the ideal apple pie, now it's time to perfect other fruit pies!
  • star rating 03/24/2011
  • thefiverogers from KAF Community
  • This apple pie recipe lives up to its name - THE BEST APPLE PIE. I used my own pie crust recipe, but the filling made the pie. The blend of boiled apple cider, apple pie spice and vanilla (you do not see vanilla in all apple pie recipes) combined with the clean flavor achieved using KA Pie Filling Enhancer was perfect. Since this was a "Birthday Pie" I took a little extra time to make it special. I sliced the apples I had on hand (50/50 granny smith/fuji) uniformly thin using a mandoline; tossed apples with lemon juice, boiled cider, vanilla mixture and then the sugar, salt, pie filling enhancer mixture. I carefully layered the apples in the crust - minimizing any gaps. This will become my go to recipe for apple pie - delicious - THE BEST!
  • star rating 03/21/2011
  • thefiverogers from KAF Community
  • THANK YOU for having a recipe that specifies and is tested using several KAF ingredients. My son has asked that his birthday cake this year be Apple Pie, so of course the first place I go to is KA to peruse the recipes. I have reviewed many KA recipes and I know it says in bold - please don't rate and review recipes that you haven't yet baked! I will come back and review this after I bake it but I just have to say - I do not always feel comfortable when I am trying to substitute KAF ingredients in my old recipies, for example Pie Filling Enhancer, which I purchased and have not used yet. I often want to add the Boiled Cider to my recipes but am concerned about impacting texture or interaction with other ingredients in cake or bread. This recipe will give me a basis for how my recipes that I experiment with should turn out. I am a real penny pincher with 3 teenagers to feed so I always evaluate cost but have found mixes like the Apple Pie Spice and Everything Bread & Bagel Topping versatile and thus cost effective. It took me many years of baking to realize that small changes in ingredients make a difference. For example, a bread recipe tested with Sir Lancelot Flour is still good made with all-purpose flour, but those of us who bake alot see the differences. Thank you for providing recipes I can depend on, it saves money because my family always eats up every last bite!
    We really appreciate your feedback. Thank you for staying in contact with us and we sure are happy you have so much faith in King Arthur Flour to meet your every baking need. Elisabeth
  • star rating 10/14/2010
  • 518maria from KAF Community
  • This made a great apple pie. I used the crust recipe on my KAF rolling mat (it's familiar and successful...no need to fool with that). My one complaint is that this recipe, as opposed to the KAF guaranteed apple pie recipe, lists several KAF exclusive ingredients with no substitutions listed. I understand that KAF is a business and must push product (this recipe index is part of that). But to list Filling Enhancer, Apple Pie spice, AND boiled cider with no subs is annoying. I have to cross reference other recipes to find out how much flour i usually use to thicken the fruit etc. I buy many KAF products, and love most of them. But to expect that I own every last product, including a pre-mixed packet of spices, is silly.
  • star rating 10/07/2010
  • Halley from Hartland, VT
  • Testing
  • star rating 09/21/2010
  • jennifer6789 from KAF Community
  • I'm a novice pie baker, so I think the problem was me more than the recipe. I made the crust (which I think is a slightly different recipe in the KAF Baking Book - used the Basic Pie Crust) and stuck it in the fridge while I made the filling...When it came time to roll out the crust, it would not roll for me! Was sticking to the rolling pin and very crumbly. Therefore, I just patted the bottom crust in the pie plate and topped with the apple filling. I tried rolling out the top crust - same thing. So I ended up making a streusel/crumb topping! The pie still tasted good (except for slightly burnt in a few spots - trying to get the hang of my new convection oven!)....however, it was not the prettiest of pies!
    If your dough was crumbling and tearing it may have needed an additional 1-2 TBS water. Give us a call at 802-649-3717 next time! Kelsey@KAF
  • 04/27/2010
  • Karen from Oklahoma City
  • I baked this and gave it away to my Father for his Birthday. Therefore I could not taste it. I had too much apples and not enough crust. So I got to keep some of the apple filling and made an Apple Crisp, with walnuts and oatmeal added.... It was fabulous! Next time I think I will try your crust recipe for Apple Pie. It has more ingredients and I may have more crust. Anyway, we are all happy and I am still learning! Thank you so much for what you all do! You all inspire me! xoxo! KK
  • star rating 01/25/2010
  • D.J. from OK
  • I too used Granny Smiths and I also use Apple Rum. EXCELLENT!
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