Dutch apple pie
There are a lot of apple pie recipes claiming to be the perfect/best/award-winning apple pie recipe. I make no such claims, except to say that this is my personal favorite apple pie recipe. I have kind of a funny story about why I always use a crumb topping instead of a top crust, but I’m sure you want me to shut up and get to the recipe, so the story’s at the end.
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter
2-3 tbsp ice cold water
Filling:
8-10 small/medium apples (enough to fill up the pie pan generously), peeled and sliced thinly
½ cup sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
Pinch ground cloves
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup quick oats
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F
1. Mix the flour and salt for the crust in a large bowl. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water 1 tbsp at a time, mixing with a fork until the flour mixture clings together when pressed into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes.
2. Mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon for the topping, then cut in the butter with a pastry blender and/or your hands. Put the topping mixture in the refrigerator.
3. Roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap (or whatever works for you) and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Flute the edges if you’re feeling ambitious.
4. Combine all filling ingredients except apples. Add the apples and toss to coat.
5. Put the filling into the crust (the apples will lose volume when baked, so you want them piled up high at this point) and bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
6. Turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 25 minutes.
7. Crumble the topping mixture evenly over the top of the pie. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil (or one of those fancy pie crust shields if you have one) and bake for another 25 minutes.
8. Cool the pie completely before serving (I find that apple pies tend to be runny if you cut them before they’re cool).
I’m a terrible photographer, so don’t let the terrible picture deter you. This pie is delicious!
In case anyone cares why I use a crumb topping instead of a top crust, here’s why. One time, I was in charge of making an apple pie for Thanksgiving dinner, and I made a beautiful pie from scratch with an elaborate lattice top. Meanwhile, my grandma wasn’t sure if anyone was making an apple pie, so she bought a frozen one from the grocery store (I should add that my grandma was a wonderful baker and made many delicious pies in her day, but as she got older, she had some trouble getting around). When dessert rolled around, we brought out all the pies, including my lattice-top apple pie made from scratch and my grandma’s store-bought Dutch apple pie, and wouldn’t you know that everybody went for the Dutch apple pie. My grandma may not have been up to making a pie from scratch, but she knew what people wanted! Anyway, from then on, I realized that a crumb topping is a win-win situation because it’s easier than rolling out a top crust and the majority of people like it better.
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter
2-3 tbsp ice cold water
Filling:
8-10 small/medium apples (enough to fill up the pie pan generously), peeled and sliced thinly
½ cup sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
Pinch ground cloves
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup quick oats
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F
1. Mix the flour and salt for the crust in a large bowl. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water 1 tbsp at a time, mixing with a fork until the flour mixture clings together when pressed into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes.
2. Mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon for the topping, then cut in the butter with a pastry blender and/or your hands. Put the topping mixture in the refrigerator.
3. Roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap (or whatever works for you) and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Flute the edges if you’re feeling ambitious.
4. Combine all filling ingredients except apples. Add the apples and toss to coat.
5. Put the filling into the crust (the apples will lose volume when baked, so you want them piled up high at this point) and bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
6. Turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 25 minutes.
7. Crumble the topping mixture evenly over the top of the pie. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil (or one of those fancy pie crust shields if you have one) and bake for another 25 minutes.
8. Cool the pie completely before serving (I find that apple pies tend to be runny if you cut them before they’re cool).
I’m a terrible photographer, so don’t let the terrible picture deter you. This pie is delicious!
In case anyone cares why I use a crumb topping instead of a top crust, here’s why. One time, I was in charge of making an apple pie for Thanksgiving dinner, and I made a beautiful pie from scratch with an elaborate lattice top. Meanwhile, my grandma wasn’t sure if anyone was making an apple pie, so she bought a frozen one from the grocery store (I should add that my grandma was a wonderful baker and made many delicious pies in her day, but as she got older, she had some trouble getting around). When dessert rolled around, we brought out all the pies, including my lattice-top apple pie made from scratch and my grandma’s store-bought Dutch apple pie, and wouldn’t you know that everybody went for the Dutch apple pie. My grandma may not have been up to making a pie from scratch, but she knew what people wanted! Anyway, from then on, I realized that a crumb topping is a win-win situation because it’s easier than rolling out a top crust and the majority of people like it better.