Tender Spiced Apple Pie (Printable)

A timeless dessert featuring tender, spiced apples in a flaky golden crust, ideal served warm.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pie Crust

01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon salt
03 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
05 - 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

→ Apple Filling

06 - 6 to 7 medium apples (mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
07 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
09 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
11 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
12 - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
13 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice
14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

→ Assembly

15 - 1 egg, beaten
16 - 1 tablespoon milk
17 - 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (optional)

# How-To Steps:

01 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add cold butter and blend with a pastry blender or fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually stir in ice water just until the dough forms. Divide dough into two disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
02 - Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Combine apples with granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, flour, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Toss until evenly coated and set aside.
03 - Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll out one dough disk to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Fit crust into the dish and fill with apple mixture, mounding slightly in the center. Dot the filling with small pieces of butter. Roll out the second dough disk and cover the filling. Trim excess dough, seal edges, and cut slits in the top crust to vent steam.
04 - Whisk together the egg and milk, then brush over the top crust. Optionally sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake on the lower rack for 45 to 55 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles. Cover edges with foil if browning too quickly.
05 - Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature, optionally accompanied by vanilla ice cream.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • That moment when you cut into warm pie and the steam rises up is pure magic, especially when vanilla ice cream is waiting on the side.
  • The crust actually comes together easier than you'd think, and once you nail it, you'll make pie for everything.
  • It's the kind of dessert that tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen, but honestly, most of that time is just the dough napping in the fridge.
02 -
  • A soggy bottom crust happens when filling moisture seeps through before the crust has a chance to set, so bake on the lower rack where heat hits the bottom first, and don't skip the flour in your filling.
  • Room-temperature apples release less juice than cold ones, so let them sit out for a bit before mixing if your filling seems watery.
  • Overdeveloping the dough by kneading it too much is the one way you'll end up with a tough, chewy crust instead of flaky layers.
03 -
  • Keep everything cold and work quickly—warm dough is sad dough that won't puff or flake no matter what you do.
  • If your dough cracks when you transfer it to the pie dish, don't throw it away; pinch the cracks back together and keep going because nobody sees the inside of a pie crust anyway.
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