This recipe taps into all of your fall senses: the beautiful colors of fresh apples, the sounds and warmth of the buzz in the kitchen, the smell of cinnamon in the air… and the taste? Sublime. It’s one of our favorite desserts from our favorite A’nue employee, founder Lois Varat. She has perfected her famous yet always improvised pie over the years – pinning her down with actual measurements and instructions was no small task! So feel free to make this pie your own – add a pinch more of one ingredient or a little less of another. This forgiving treat has only one requirement – get some while you can! Lois’ Famous Apple Pie doesn’t stick around for long, so we invite you to indulge in all of the rich flavors of the season while the pie is warm and tasty. Extra points for adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Lois’ Apple Pie
- 9 – 10” Pie Plate
- Pre-made pie crust*
- 10-12 granny smith apples, cored, peeled & sliced into ¼” thick slices
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp Cinnamon, divided
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 egg, beaten until blended
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle a small amount of flour on bottom of lightly buttered pie pan. Roll out 1 layer of pie crust so that it can generously cover the pie plate and hang over the edges. Begin layering ingredients. Place a layer of apples, then sprinkle with generous amount of sugar, sprinkle a few dashed of cinnamon, and tuck small pieces of butter into different sections of the slices. Then squeeze small amounts of lemon juice onto the slices. Repeat 4 – 5 times until the apples mound up about 1 ½ – 2 inches above the top of the pan. Then roll out the top layer of crust and cover the apple slices. Cut the edge of the top layer of crust so that it just covers the apples. Then roll the excess of the bottom layer over to form the edge of the crust. Pinch the crust so that it makes a good seal. You can decorate the edge of the crust with fork prints or fingerprints. Take a fork & make small holes in any pattern into the top crust to allow steam to release. Use a pastry brush to apply egg to the top crust so that the crust shines after baking. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, occasionally checking that the crust isn’t burning. Place a cookie sheet below the pie to catch any drippings. Pie is done when crust is golden brown & filling is tender & bubbling.
*Lois swears by pre-packaged pie crusts as a time-saver, but if you would like to make your own crust, here’s one easy-to-follow recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-pie-crust-13619