“Best Apple Pie Ever” Recipe

“Best Apple Pie Ever”

Ingredients

• 2 pie crusts (You can make them from scratch or buy them pre-made.)
• 3 lbs apples (I used a combination of Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Cortland apples.)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• Milk (for “wash”)
• Sugar and cinnamon (for sprinkling on pie crust)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel, core and slice apples to your desired thickness level.
3. Mix together the apples, lemon juice, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. (Then, let the mixture sit for a few minutes. Taste it to see if you should add more sugar or spices to get it to your desired flavor level. You can always add a bit more flavor based on the number and natural sweetness of the apples used.) Once your apples are at your preferred taste level, add the flour to the mixture in order to thicken the pie filling.
4. Place the apple filling into the bottom pie crust layer, making the highest point of the filling in the center. Dot the small pieces of butter on top of the apple filling.
5. Add the top crust. Brush the milk on the top crust. Then, sprinkle the crust with a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of sugar. Gently make several slits in the top crust (to serve as steam vents).
6. Place the pie on a cookie sheet and put the sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Let the pie cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes/until the crust just starts to turn golden brown. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking the pie for an additional 50 minutes/until the crust is golden brown and you can see that the pie juices are bubbling.
7. Remove the pie from the oven. Let it cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving the pie.