Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 45 minutes
SERVINGS: 1 pie
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3 ½ sticks ice-cold unsalted butter
½ cup ice water
For the filling:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 assorted apples, including Granny Smith and McIntosh
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter, optional
PREPARATION
To make the dough, Combine flour, salt, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Cut butter into tablespoon-sized pieces. Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until the pieces are the size of peas. With the machine running, quickly pour in water and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. The mixture should look dry and crumbly. Turn the flour-butter mixture into a bowl and work the dough into a rough mass with your hands. If it is too dry, sprinkle in a little more water. Using the sides of the bowl, push the dough firmly and it will begin to come together.
Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Press down on the dough to form a flat disk about an inch and a half thick. Chill until firm, at least ½ hour. Remove the dough from refrigerator to soften a little. Roll one dough round until it is a little more than 1/8” thick. Trim into a circle a few inches larger than the pie tin. Loosely roll the crust around the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9” pie tin. Chill. Repeat with the remaining dough round and chill on a parchment-lined baking sheet while you prepare the filling.
Preheat oven to 375º. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside. Peel and slice apples thinly. In a large bowl, toss apples with sugar, lemon juice and zest, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg. Pack tightly into chilled bottom piecrust and dot the top with 1 tablespoon cut up butter, if desired.
Drape top crust over the apples. Brush edges of top and bottom crust with a little water and press edges to seal. Trim edge of dough to about 1½ inches overhang all around. Roll under and crimp edges decoratively. Cut long vents in the top. Brush the top crust with a little water and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until juices are bubbling thickly, 60-75 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.