The pie making is about to start here for the holidays and one of our favorites for fall is Apple Pie. EVERYONE loves apple pie, it seems, and fall being apple season here means we have a fresh crop of apples to choose from! Today I’m re-sharing my all time favorite apple pie recipe.

Best apples for baking include Macintosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, and Empire

Some people find pies intimidating, but really only the crust is tricky, and I’ve solved even that when I discovered this Vodka crust recipe. It is now my go-to crust recipe for anything that requires a basic pastry dough.

The alcohol evaporates on baking, of course (which may be good news or bad news depending who or when you ask LOL), but the additional moisture from the Vodka makes the dough super easy to work with - it is like rolling out play-dough! And because it bakes out, it still produces a light, flaky, super-delicious crust.

The recipe for a double crust can be found here in this post on the quiche recipe that will ruin you for all other quiches …yup, same crust!

Now for the rest of the pie…while your crust is chilling it’s time to get busy with the apple peeler and corer! One of the best ways to get a decadent mile high apple pie is with a LOT of apples.

Apple pies usually call for tart apples like granny smith to balance the sugar. I like a combination - usually of granny smith, macintosh, and cortland, but as long as you use a good firm baking apple and don’t slice them too thinly, the texture will hold and not turn to mush.

The filling recipe I love most is from Sarah Leah Chase in Cold Weather Cooking for Neiman Marcus Apple Pie. AND, as she says “unlike most pies, this one tastes better a day or two after it’s made”. What could be better than a delicious pie you can make ahead?

Perfect for Thanksgiving… or any occasion where you want to limit last minute prep.

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The Best Ever Apple Pie Recipe

serves 8-10

Ingredients

11 cups or about 12 apples cored, peeled and sliced into eighths (or quarters if the apples are small). I like Macintosh and Cortland and the occasional Granny Smith for apple types that are readily available and hold up in baking.
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon OR 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, depending on your mood and preference
a little extra cream and some large crystal baking sugar for glazing the crust

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375’. Roll out half the dough into a 12” round on a lightly floured baking mat. Line a 10” pie plate with the dough.
Prepare the filling. Place the apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with the sugar, flour, salt, cream, and cinnamon or cardamom. Mound the filling into the crust.
Roll out the remaining crust into a circle approximately 1/8” thick and cover the pie. Pinch and crimp the edges together to seal, trim excess.
Brush the crust with heavy cream or milk and sprinkle with large crystal sparkling baking sugar (some would say this is optional, but I don’t think so!) for an extra crunchy sweet texture in every bite. Using a sharp knife, cut several small steam vents into the top crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
Bake until golden brown and filling is bubbling, 75 to 90 minutes. If the crust is getting too brown before it is done, cover it loosely with a piece of foil and continue baking.
Cool the pie overnight and serve at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream!

This is a fabulous classic dessert and any leftovers make a great breakfast…hey, it’s fruit, right? I am definitely on team #pieforbreakfast - it is the grown up version of pop tarts (sort of what charcuterie is to lunchables!)