Pamela Blom’s
Two-Crust Apple Pie
For the crust:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut in ½-inch cubes
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch (or flour)
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash salt
4 to 6 firm baking apples (like Granny Smith or Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, sliced into ½ inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Make dough: Measure flour, sugar and salt and place in a small metal or glass bowl. Put bowl in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Put cubed butter into freezer for 15 minutes.
Put dry ingredients into bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Attach and lock lid and process. Add butter cubes a few at a time. Once all butter is in, stop machine. Pulse the ingredients until the butter in the mixture is the size of green peas. Do not overmix. Put machine on steady power again, adding 1 tablespoon ice water at time until the dough pulls away from the side. Stop immediately when this happens.
Remove dough to a work surface. Divide in two, and form each half into a firm, thick disk.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until needed.
Roll dough for bottom crust on a lightly floured surface, working from center of dough outward in a spoke fashion, to a 12-inch circle. Fold dough in half and drape over rolling pin to lift into 9-inch pie plate. Fit dough gently into plate, pressing into edges of pan and pressing out any air bubbles.
Make filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Peel, core and slice apples and layer into bottom crust, taking care to leave no gaps. Sprinkle with spice mixture and dot cubed butter over top.
Roll out dough for top crust as for bottom, but rolling to an 11-inch circle. Gently lay top crust over pie, and tuck top edges over bottom firmly then crimp; trim excess as needed. Cut several vents in top of pie.
Bake pie on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; cover rim of pie crust with a strip of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Continue to bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until crust is evenly browned.
Carefully remove pie to cooling rack to cool. Serve hot with ice cream as desired.
Makes one 9-inch pie; 6 servings.
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