American Apple Pie
The all-butter double-crust classic: two kinds of apples, cinnamon, and the patience to let it cool. As American as it claims to be.
- prep
- 1 h
- cook
- 1 h
- total
- 2 h
- serves
- 8
- level
- medium
A great apple pie is three decisions made early: all butter in the crust, two varieties of apple so you get both sauce and bite, and juices thickened enough to slice instead of flood.
The hardest step is the last one. A pie cut warm is apple soup in pastry; three hours of cooling is what sets the filling, and it is part of the recipe, not a suggestion.
American Apple Pie is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.
method
Rub or pulse the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar until pea-sized pieces remain. Add ice water just until it holds. Form two discs and chill at least 1 hour.
Peel and slice the apples 5 mm thick. Toss with both sugars, spices and lemon and let them sit 30 minutes.
Drain the juices into a small pan and reduce them to a syrup. Toss the apples with the cornstarch, then the syrup.
Roll one disc and line a 23 cm pie dish. Pile in the apples, dot with butter, and lid with the second disc or a lattice. Crimp, cut vents, egg wash, and scatter demerara.
Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, then at 180°C (350°F) for 40 more, until deep golden and the juices bubble thickly through the vents.
Cool for a full 3 hours before cutting.
chef's tips
- Two apple varieties is the trick: one collapses into sauce, the other holds its shape.
- The pie is done when you see thick, slow bubbles in the vents, not when the crust looks nice.
- Reducing the drained juices concentrates flavor without flour-pasting the filling.