All Butter Crust Apple Pie

This is my go-to crust recipe from Sister Pie in Detroit. It’s super flakey and crisp. Keep everything super cold and you’ll do great! The apple filling is super apple’y especially if you get some flavor from the peel and, weirdly enough some celery. When you simmer the peels with a stalk of celery, it really brings out the apple flavor, and don’t worry, there’s no celery in the actual pie. ;)

Recipe Adapted by Tierney Larson

Filling Adapted from Food52 Coral Lee

Crust Recipe Adapted from Sister Pie

For the Pie Dough:

2 1/2 cups (336g) of All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Sugar

1 cup of unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tbl apple cider vinegar

For the Filling: *If you like using the whole fruit, save the peels for an extra step if you want, if not no worries!

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices

1 Large (or 2 small) Red Delicious, or Rome apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices

2 Golden Apples, (I don’t peel these because the skin is soft)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp allspice

1 tbl cornstarch or tapioca flour

1 tbl lemon juice

2 tbl granulated sugar

4 tbl brown sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1-2 tbl of Mascarpone

Ok so….

Make the Pie Dough:

Place the cubed butter on a small plate or cutting board. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix 3/4 cup of water with 2 tbl of apple cider vinegar and place both the butter and the water mixture in the freezer to chill for 15 min while you prep the rest. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and sugar and set aside. Add the chilled butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat the butter with the flour. Using a pastry cutter, or your hands, start rubbing or cutting the butter into the flour, turning the bowl as you go, until you have a mixture that has some pea sized pieces, and the rest of the mix should resemble grated Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 cup of the water/vinegar mixture and using your hands, toss the flour into the water mixture. Pieces of dough will start to form, if you can press it together and it holds and doesn’t crumble, then you’re good to go, if it’s still crumbly add a tiny bit more water using your hands to just splash some onto the dry spots and continue tossing it together. Once all the bits are hydrated, press them together, then cut into two equal pieces, form into disks and wrap each well in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For the Filling:

For this technique, your filling will sit at room temperature for 3 hours, so plan accordingly with your crust so your filling doesn’t macerate for too long. This technique allows you to control the amount of liquid you’re putting into your pie. In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with both sugars, the spices, the lemon juice, and salt and let sit in the bowl for 3 hours. This will draw out the liquid that you will later simmer to reduce to about 1/3 of a cup of liquid.

*If you want to do something extra with the peels of your apples, add them to a small pot along with some water (enough to cover) a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar and the celery stalk. I know it sounds weird but celery brings out the apple flavor especially paired with green apples. Trust me you won’t specifically taste celery, but it will be an elevated apple flavor. Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a very gentle simmer and cook for about 45 min-1 hour. Strain and set aside. It won’t be much liquid, but it will add an extra zing of apple flavor to the rest of your liquid later.

Back to the Dough:

Once your dough has chilled for 2 hours, remove one disc from the fridge and place onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press the dough a few times to start to flatten with your rolling pin. Then begin rolling from the middle out and then turning to make sure your dough isn’t sticking. You want to use minimal flour here, so just a light dusting now and then will be fine. Roll out the dough so you have about 1 1/2 inches or 2 inches overhang on your pie dish. Roll the dough onto your pin and then unfurl it gently over your pie dish. Start to gently but firmly press the dough, making sure not to stretch it, into the bottom, corners and sides of the pan. Leave the overhang for now and place the dough in the fridge or freezer for about 20 minutes to firm up again.

When your filling is ready:

Set a colander over a bowl and drain the apples. If you have 1/3 of a cup of liquid then you don’t need to reduce it, but if it’s a over 1/3, place it in a small pot and simmer until it’s reduced a bit and slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and add the other liquid from the peels (if you did that step) and set aside to cool completely before adding back to your apples.

Preheat your oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment.

When the liquid is completely cooled, remove your bottom of the pie from the fridge or freezer, dock the bottom and slightly up the sides of your pie dough with a fork, and then apply a thin layer of the mascarpone to the bottom of the pie. Add the cornstarch to your apples and gently toss to coat. Then add the cooled liquid and stir to coat. Add the apples to your pie shell and mound them up in the center (they will shrink down a little during baking) Remove your other dough disk from the fridge and roll it out the same way as you did the bottom, leaving about a 2 inch over hang over the edge of the pie dish. Roll it onto the rolling pin and unfurl it over the top. Trim the dough so you have a neat 1 inch overlap over the top of the pie. Fold the top layer of dough under the bottom layer of dough and press gently together to seal, then using your thumb of one hand, and your pointer finger and thumb of your other hand, press the dough into big crimps by pressing your thumb in between your pointer and thumb. Go around the entire edge of the pie. Then cut three or four 1 inch slits in the top of the pie so steam can vent during your baking. Place the entire pie in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the freezer and brush with egg wash. Place in the oven on the center rack and bake for 15-20 minutes or until evenly lightly golden on top. Then lower the temperature to 350F and continue to bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and the you can see the filling is bubbling in the middle. If you can’t see any bubbling, listen for a bubbling sound or if there is a ton of steam coming out, then that means your filling has reached a boil. You want it to boil so the cornstarch or tapioca flour is cooked fully. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely before serving.