Each year ASAP staff share their favorite Thanksgiving recipes. The classic apple pie recipe comes from Amy Marion in ASAP’s Local Food Research Center.
Double Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar (only use if making a fruit pie)
- 11 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 7 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
- 5-6 tablespoons ice water
Directions
- Mix flour and salt (and sugar if using) in food processor. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting with about four more 1-second pulses. Mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas. Turn mixture into a medium-sized bowl.
- Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With the blade of a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time and folding, until dough comes together. You don’t want to over mix or the dough will become tough.
- Shape dough into 2 balls with your hands, then flatten into 4-inch discs. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or more) before rolling.
Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 6 large tart apples (select a couple different kinds)
- ¾ cup sugar (less if using sweeter apples)
- 1+ tablespoon flour (adjust to juiciness of apples)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place bottom crust dough into pie pan.
- Peel, core and slice apples. Fill pie crust with apples. Pile them tall; they will shrink down significantly.
- In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt. Add lemon juice and mix until combined. Sprinkle over apples. (Don’t mix together.) Dot with butter.
- Add upper crust dough and make slits for steam. Brush with half and half and lightly sprinkle with sugar. Protect crust edge with pie crust shield or aluminum foil strips.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower to 350 degrees and bake for 60 minutes (or until bottom crust is brown).