Is your pie, Pi? Who cares…it’s seriously frickin’ delicious!
Oh, wait…first off, I should introduce myself. I am Kristy’s little brother, Michael. Or as Kristy introduces me, her “little big brother”, lol. I was asked to put together a guest post regarding a recipe for an apple pie that I made for her whilst visiting…like forever ago.
To my sisters dismay, she learned that I am not only capable of making a mean apple pie, I am also capable of procrastinating with the best of ‘em.
Honestly though, it is somewhat intimidating to be posting something that many foodies will be reading and hopefully making, because let’s face it; you people take your food seriously man! Y’all make mouth-watering cuisine and I respect the dedication and talent that is involved.
I am confident however, that this apple pie will leave your eyes wide, it’s delicious and flavorly flirtatious. Best of luck resisting its flaky crispy crust, and tart caramel sweet filling. Like the sinful (calorie-ridden) lust of someone you know you should leave alone…you’ll be back for more! So, enough depravation of what you’re really craving and let’s get to it shall we…
…First off, preheat your oven to 425 F, with your oven rack situated in the center.
Ambrosial Apple Pie
Yield 1 pie
Ingredients
Perfect Pie Crust (The Body):
- 1 Cup chilled Crisco shortening.
- ½ Cup chilled butter.
- 3 Cups all-purpose flour.
- ¾ Cup ice cold water.
- Apple filling (The Heart)
- 5 Large Granny Smith apple.
- 2 McIntosh Apples.
Smooth Caramel Butter Sauce (The Personality):
- ½ Cup butter
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- ¼ Cup water
- ½ Cup white sugar
- ½ Cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ Tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
For Crust & Lattice:
- Cut Crisco, butter, and flour in together until the mixture resembles pea sized crumbs. Pour in the water and mix just until completely combined. Depending on the moisture content of your flour, you may now have to add a couple more tablespoons of flour, just until the dough is no longer sticky. Try not to over work the dough…pie crust is one area in life where flaky is a desirable quality.
- Divide the dough into two balls, one slightly bigger than the other (trying..not..to..make..joke…). Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 min or so.
- Roll out the larger ball and line your 9” deep dish pie dish with the crust. Roll you’re your second ball and cut into 1 inch strips. If you are unfamiliar with making a woven lattice crust, check out youtube; there are many instructional videos and it really is quite simple.
For Filling:
- Peel, core and slice apples into ¼ inch slices.
- Layer the apples in the prepared crust dish until it is slightly mounded on top.
- Cover with your lattice crust, lacing the pieces as you go.
For Sauce:
- Heat butter in a sauce pan until melted; add in the four to make a paste. Mix in the water and both sugars and heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon.
- Pour the mixture on top of your lattice crusted pie, ensuring the caramel mixture goes not only in the lattice holes, but on the lattice as well. This will give it that crisp irresistible variation. Try not to let it pour off the side though…that would give it that burnt sugar variation, haha.
- Bake for 15 minutes in your preheated 425F oven. Turn the temperature down to 350F and continue baking for an additional 40 minutes or until the apples are tender. Allow at least one hour for the pie to cool.
Michael Gardner is a fabulous younger “big” brother. He currently attends college in Vancouver, B.C. for psychology and in his free time enjoys falling asleep in long baths, laughing and making poo jokes with his big sister and spending quality time with his family. When he isn’t in classes or making an ass out of himself, he is a master baker…
… thank you brother. heart you.
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
January 14, 2013 at 10:21 PMYay brother! This pie looks fabuloso! I wish my “little big brother” would make me a pie.
Kristy Lynn
January 15, 2013 at 12:47 AMI am one lucky girl 🙂
FrugalFoodieMama
January 16, 2013 at 2:13 AMOh wow- this looks good! At first, I was a little skeptical when I saw he put the apples into the pie with no sugar or anything… then I saw that crazy yummy sauce! 😉 Very clever!
Kristy Lynn
January 18, 2013 at 12:11 PMyeah, he’s funny like that. you think “oh no. car crash” – and then BAM! He clevers the shit outta things 😉
…jk michael – you are always clever.
Alea Milham
January 21, 2013 at 10:18 PMMichael’s pie looks amazing! I’ve pinned it to my dessert board on Pinterest.
Kristy Lynn
January 23, 2013 at 12:12 PMoooooh!! he’ll be so excited – thank you Alea!
The 21st Century Housewife©
January 22, 2013 at 12:13 PMFabulous pie! You have a very talented brother 🙂 I wish I could make pies that looked that good. I like the idea of combining two different types of apples too. I’m going to pin this to try later, and share it on my FB page so lots more folks can enjoy it too!
Kristy Gardner
November 23, 2013 at 2:06 PMFabulous!! Thank you April!
Christine Gries
November 21, 2013 at 1:28 PMI made your pie last night. I have yet to try it but I will tonight, I am taking it to a dinner party. I follwed the instructions exactly but I had one issue. The sauce to pour on top came out REALLY thick. It wasn’t possible to pour it after simmering for 5 minutes. I ended up adding alot more water to thin it out until it was pourable. It still wasn’t very thin and ended up just sort of sitting on top of the crust (a little went thru the lattice holes but not alot :/). Did I do something wrong? Fire too hot while simmering? Too much flour? Your help it appreciated! Thanks, Christine.
Kristy Gardner
November 23, 2013 at 2:08 PMHi Christine! I’ll ask my brother to respond properly since he is the pie expert. However, it’s my guess that it was a heating issue. Everyone’s stove elements are different and recipes really are a guide – it all depends on how hot your burners “burn”, so to speak. While mine might be less hot whilst simmering, yours may be hotter. Anyhow, I’ll ask him what he thinks though I’m guessing this is it.
Kristy Gardner
November 24, 2013 at 4:46 PMHey Christine – here’s the answer, straight from the source (my bro):
“You nailed it! Two smart cookies there. So, there is only one reason for a sauce like this to become too thick…yup, you guessed it, the heat was too high for too long. In a sauce with substantial sugar content, prolonging a higher degree of heat will result in something along the lines of chewy caramel candy, toffee, or fudge, depending on your variety of sauce. As soon as a sugar based sauce begins to boil, turn it down to a simmer, no large bubble should be forming any longer, or face having to try and shove chewy candy through the lattice into the pie.”
Hope this helps!!