While apple pies are very different from traditional German "Apfelkuchen", I have come to love this classic North American dessert! Particularly if it's straight out of the oven with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. They say realtors like to bake cookies to make houses smell more homey to potential buyers, but I think they should bake apple pies instead. In my opinion, nothing beats the combination of apple and cinnamon.
Ingredients:
Pie crust:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1/3 cup ice-cold water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Filling:
- 6-8 apples (such as Cortland)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup butter
Egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp milk
Combine dry pie ingredients first. Cut cold butter into small pieces with a pastry cutter, forks or a knife (I usually use a knife and then put it back into the freezer for around 10 minutes to cool it back down). Slowly add the butter to the dough, knead and then add the cold water and lemon juice. Knead until just combined, split into two halves and form two discs. Refrigerate discs for at least 1 hour.
Roll out one of the discs into a circular shape and drape it over a pie tin. Cover with plastic wrap and move it back to the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Peel the apples and remove the core. Cut each apple into approximately 12-16 slices per apple. Cover the apple slices in lemon juice while you slice the remaining apples. In a pan, combine the apple slices, butter, brown sugar and caster sugar as well as the spices (cinnamon and nutmeg). Cook at medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or until the apples have become soft. Add water if necessary in case the mixture gets too dry. Move just the solid parts to the pie tin as the sauce will make the pie too soggy. Keep this for later as the sauce tastes great when drizzled over vanilla ice cream!
Roll out the second disc. If you don't want to spend a lot of time on patterns, simply roll it out in a circular shape and drape it over the pie. Poke a couple of hole in the center to allow air to be released. If you want to try a more fancy look, you can experiment with different kinds of lattices or shapes. Here, I went with a maple leaf cookie cutter and I used a knife to do the leaf's veins.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F for another 30 minutes. Prepare the egg wash by mixing the egg yolk and milk. Remove the pie from the oven and apply the egg wash with a brush, then bake for another 10 minutes at 350°F. Let cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or on its own. Enjoy! :)
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