Classic Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.
– Jane Austen.
It’s been quite a little while since I made an apple pie, but when I saw there were Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples available, I knew what had to be done. This beauty of a pie also includes a couple of Granny Smiths, of course, to add that bit of tart and keep the pie from being too sweet.
Who Was Granny Smith?
So, I got to wondering…was there a real Granny Smith or is that a moniker like Betty Crocker, a made-up name to evoke a friendly, female presence? Well, Dear Reader, I’m delighted to tell you she was a real person: An Englishwoman named Maria Smith, who had, with her husband, emigrated to Australia, lured by the financial incentive offered to people to help develop the newly settled land.
The story is that Maria Smith, who allegedly sold her delicious pies in addition to helping with the family farm and orchards, created the Granny Smith by accident. She was known to throw apple scraps into a compost pile, and eventually new hybridized seedlings sprouted up. Ms. Maria cultivated them but died a couple of years later. Luckily, other growers had planted her seedlings, too, thus giving us the Granny Smith, as it came to be called.
The Granny Smith became popular throughout Australia after winning the “Best Cooking Apple” prize at an agricultural show. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that it made its way to America.
A Lattice of (Dough) Flowers
I wanted to get fancy with the lattice work on this pie and include some braids and “painted” flowers. Normally, I make an all-butter crust but I added a little shortening this time, which makes the dough easier to handle and hold its shape.
I divided the top crust dough into two sections and cut the first half into wider strips, and the other half into thin strips for braiding. For the flowers, I used a cookie cutter and cut them out of the scraps of leftover dough, then chilled them. Using a small paintbrush, I painted them with pink gel food coloring thinned with a bit of water.
Reality Bakes
What you don’t see are the dough butterflies. The gel watercolor effect I was going for wasn’t entirely successful and they looked messy. I’m on the case, though, to find an effective, edible way to paint dough, so stay tuned. (Or share your tips if you have them!)
Tips
- If you plan on creating fancy lattice-work, using a bit of shortening in your crust makes the dough easier to work with and helps it hold its shape.
- Adding a little bit of sugar to your crust can help make it tender.
- Use baking apples like Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Granny Smith.
Classic Deep Dish Apple Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled with a knife
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher or table salt
- 1/4 cup (46g) cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
- 10 tbsp (142g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) ice water
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (optional)
Filling:
- 8 to 9 peeled and cored baking apples, sliced (about 10 cups)
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (105g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (45g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp (28g) butter, diced
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
- Coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
For the Crust:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Work the shortening in until mixture is crumbly. Cut in half the chilled butter until crumbly again. Cut in the other half of the chilled butter and work in with your fingers until mixture is mealy and there are pea-sized lumbs of butter. (If using a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt briefly to combine. Add the shortening and pulse until integrated. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until mixture is mealy and butter has formed pea-sized lumps. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.)
- Mix the lemon juice with the ice water and slowly drizzle 4 tablespoons into the flour mixture and gently mix it in. Keep drizzling in the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to come together. When you are able to squeeze dough and have it stick together stop adding water.
- Shape dough into a shaggy ball and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. For a double crust pie, cut the dough into two pieces with one almost twice as large as the other (for the bottom crust). For single pie crusts, cut the dough in half. Shape both into discs, flatten, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
For the Filling:
- In a large bowl, mix the apple slices, lemon juice, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and toss to coat the apples. Set aside for 30 minutes to 2 hours. (Tip: Put sliced apples in the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice while slicing the apples then add the other ingredients. This will help guard against browning.)
- Transfer apples to a new bowl and strain juice into a small saucepan. Add the butter and cook over medium-high heat until mixture thickens into a syrup, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle cornstarch over the apple slices and toss. Add the syrup and toss again.
Assembly and Baking:
- Roll larger dough disc out to 14 to 16 inches in diameter and transfer the dough to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, letting it slump into the dish. Gently tuck into the dish and trim edges leaving about 1/2-inch overhang. Chill while rolling out top crust.
- Roll out remaining disc to about 12 to 14 inches in diameter. For a lattice, cut into 12 one-inch strips. To alternate with braids, divide the disc in half and cut one half into the one-inch strips (I cut 5 strips). Cut the other half into thin strips of 1/2 centimeter width (I cut 9 to braid into 3 braids). To braid, gather 3 thin strands and pinch at the top and braid together, pinching the dough together again at the end. Transfer all the strips to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Spoon the filling into the bottom pie shell.
- Place the top crust over the apples and bring the overhanging bottom crust up and over the top crust, pinching to seal and then crimping. If making a lattice, tuck the strips under the bottom crust edge and then crimp. Cut decorative vent holes if using whole top crust. Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill whole pie for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the pie for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 40 to 55 minutes more, until you see the filling bubbling inside the pie. Check the pie after 30 minutes and cover the edges with foil if browning too quickly.
- When done, remove pie from oven and let cool. For best results, let pie set for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Store pie lightly covered at room temperature for a few days.
OMG not only does that sound so delicious but the crust is ridiculously great looking. Very creative. I really love seeing what you post next…
Thanks so much! The lattice work was fun, actually.
Who knew there was a real Granny Smith? This pie looks amazing!
Thank you! I loved the mix of apples in this one.
Love this! The flowers on the crust are adorable! Great idea 🙂
Thank you, Traci. 😊
Your pie looks amazing! It was very interesting to read about the history of the Granny Smith apple! Great blog post!
Thanks so much, Jaden. Kind of fun to learn Granny Smith was a real woman. 🍏
This pie is beautiful. It looks delicious. It was fun to learn about the real Granny Smith. I love recipe books and sites that tell a story. Thank you.
Thanks Rosemary. Me too.
So excited to try this recipe. I have been using butter in my pie crusts and find that it’s a bit heavy and will follow along here to attempt making a pie crust without butter! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it looks delicious!
Thanks Anne! Hope it works out for you. I’d love to see pix.
Hi, Interesting article. I only ever use Granny Smith apples in pies – that’s just what I was taught! Granny Smith actually emigrated to Australia and lived in a suburb of Sydney called Eastwood and there were many orchards of Granny Smith not far from where I grew up. In fact they still have a Granny Smith festival there every year. Your pie looks lovely!
A Granny Smith festival? It’s on my bucket list now. Thanks!