Recipe | My Very Favorite Homemade Apple Pie
Do you all remember the movie, Waitress, with Keri Russell? If you haven't seen it, please do, and then you'll feel an overwhelming need to bake a pie and when you do, go ahead and make this one. Ok? Honestly though, that movie is one of my very favorites and so is this recipe. I made this pie the first Thanksgiving when we lived in our first house and felt such a sense of accomplishment when I did. Not because making a pie in necessarily difficult, but because it seemed so symbolic and grown up at the time. New home, newly married, bringing a pie to Thanksgiving dinner, I might have even worn an apron for the fist time too, anyway, you get the idea. Baking a pie from scratch is a bit like making bread from scratch, it is just so gratifying, creating something incredibly good and comforting from just a few ingredients, using the same techniques shared by generation after generation of home cooks.
There are a few things about this recipe that make it extra good. First, you roast the apples in melted butter and sugar before they go in the pie. I think this releases extra juices and adds another layer of flavor to the pie. The crust is made with a mixture of cake flour and regular flour, giving it a lightness that isn't always found in a pie. The recipe for the crust does call for shortening and I cringe just a bit, but I have yet to find an all butter crust that is as light and flaky (without being dry). I think the combination of fats (butter and shortening) in a crust just make it better. (If you just can't do the shortening, here is an all butter crust that I found to be a very good too.)
Golden Raisin + Apple Lattice Pie
(recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2000)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling
3 1/4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, quartered, cored, each quarter cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup golden raisins (about 5 ounces)
1 cup golden raisins (about 5 ounces)
2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon whipping cream (for glaze)
For crust:
Blend flour, cake flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. (I've never needed to add more water) Gather dough into ball; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger piece in between two sheets of plastic wrap, into a 12 inch circle and the refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Flatten the smaller piece into rectangle; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Spread apple slices on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar over apples, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter and lemon juice; toss to coat. Bake just until apples begin to soften, stirring once, about 15 minutes. Cool apples completely on baking sheet. Maintain oven temperature.
Transfer cooled apples and any accumulated juices to large bowl. Mix in raisins and brown sugar.
Butter 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Remove 12 inch dough circle from fridge, remove plastic and pres dough into prepared pie dish. Spoon apple filling into crust. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter over. Roll out dough rectangle on floured surface to 11x7-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into twelve 1/2-inch-wide strips. Place 5-6 strips 1 inch apart atop apple filling. Place remaining 5-6 strips diagonally atop first 6 strips, forming diamond lattice pattern. Trim strips even with bottom crust. Fold dough overhang in, pressing onto edge of pie dish. Press dough edge decoratively with fork to seal. Brush dough strips with egg glaze. Try to get into all the crevices. Sprinkle strips with 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake 15 minutes, keep pie on rack that is placed in lower third of oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to bake pie until crust is golden and apples are tender, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 15 minutes longer. (Mine takes 1 hour and 10 minutes) Cool pie at least 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely, then cover and store at room temperature.)