Welcome! Are you a subscriber? Click here to receive my weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
Country apple pie is a favorite dessert of men and women alike. Sweet, seasoned apples and a flaky, buttery crust. What’s not to love? It’s classic and perfect! But who would have thought that men like to bake country apple pie, too?!
I mentioned last Sunday on my Basilmomma Facebook page that my husband woke up that morning with a desire to make a pie. Not just any pie mind you but a country apple pie. From scratch.
I asked him 100 questions about why now, why a pie, why apple…just WHY?
His response was,
“I want to make a pie.” But what I heard was “I want you to help me make a pie, and then clean up the mess while I eat it.”
So you can see why I was a little intrigued here. So off we went to pick a gazillion Granny Smith apples for all of my apple needs for the week. I just assumed that he would use my pie recipe. Silly me, thinking that I was the only cook in the house, pulled up my apple pie recipe on the computer and emailed it to him. He quickly thanked me and announced that he was not, in fact, using my recipe. He had found one on the Internet.
What? The Internet?! He knows I have a hard time baking pies – specifically the crusts. I felt the beginnings of a challenge brewing, and he did too!
He came home and was very eager to start baking his country apple pie.
I hid back a little and just watched him. He cleaned his work surface well and got out all of his ingredients. Then he pulled up his recipe of choice on his laptop. I mean, I had never even heard of the website! Then he got down to business.
I asked him if he needed a peeling tutorial. No.
Did he need me to show him how to cut in the shortening? No.
Did he need me to…? “Get out!” was the answer. So I did.
I have never seen a step by step recipe quite like the one he used. Very detailed, and the instructions were so clear a Pie Novice could follow them. Obviously ????
I didn’t even want to add ice cream to the country apple pie! That is saying a lot about how good his pies were.
He later told me that he liked the second pie better because the crust was ‘prettier’. He was right, but both of them had a perfect, flaky crust that complemented the sweet and lightly spiced apple filling. The apples were perfectly cooked. Not too firm, not too soft, and not at all soupy.
He let me cut the country apple pie, and of course I gave him the first piece. It was then known in all the land (well, our house) that there was a new Pie Champion. His new name, according to my sons, was BasilDaddy.
Try this country apple pie recipe and let me know what you think of it!
Total Servings 9 servings
20 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
55 minCook Time
1 hr, 15 Total Time
Ingredients
-
For the Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- I teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened, but still cold
- 6 tablespoons shortening
- 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
-
For the Filling
- 5 Tart Peeled Apples
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Instructions
-
Make the Crust
- In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter, shortening, and ice water.
- Remove dough crust from ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Then place in refrigerator for 20 minutes while you make the pie filling.
Make the Filling
- Peel and slice your apples. Soak them in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice. This will prevent the apples from browning.
- To a large mixing bowl, add all of the filling ingredients except for the apples. Drain the water off of the apples and mix them into the bowl with the spices.
Assemble the Pie
- Removed chilled dough from the refrigerator and use a knife to cut it into two even pieces.
- Roll one of the balls of pie crust out until it is around 1/8th of an inch thick.
- Once you have rolled out the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin and unroll it onto your pie pan.
- Once you have shaped it to fit the inside of the pan, take a fork and poke holes in the bottom of the crust. This will let the steam out as the pie bakes.
- Pour the seasoned apples into the crust. Place about 4 pats of butter evenly across the filling.
- Roll out the remaining ball of dough just as you did earlier, rolling it onto your rolling pin and then out across the top of your pie. Press the two crusts together along the edges, crimping them gently between your thumb and forefinger.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut long strips of aluminum foil and place them around the outside edge of the pie.
- This will prevent the edges from burning while the pie bakes.
- Bake the pie for 50-60 minutes.
- Remove the foil about ten minutes before the pie is finished baking to allow the edges to brown lightly. At this time, you can also lightly brush egg white across the top of the pie to give it a glossy finish.
Important Notes
Recipe very slightly adapted from My Home Cooking
