Homemade Old Fashioned Apple Pie From Scratch

This is the best apple pie I have ever eaten.  

And I make it.

Technically, it’s not my recipe, so I’m not boasting on myself.  This is Mamaw’s apple pie recipe.  And it’s my favorite.

I think this is the best apple pie on the planet.  And now you can make it too.

When I ask my Dad what he wants for his birthday he says, “Apple Pie.”

When I ask my son what kind of cake he wants for his birthday he says, “Apple Pie.”

DH doesn’t like apple pie, but he loves this one.

When we eat apple pie at other places my children comment after their first bite, “It’s not as good as yours, Mom.”

This pie recipe has even won 1st place in the Apple Festival here in our little town.

I’m just sayin’

This is a good one.

Oh, if you are trying to cut back on sugar this is not a recipe you want to make.  It contains more than it’s share.  But it’s sooooo good.

First, you’ll need some Granny Smith apples.  Sorry, nothing else is the same.  If you don’t use Granny Smith apples I can’t promise results.  Granny Smith apples stay in slices in the pie.  They don’t turn to applesauce when you cook them.  They are tart.  They make a great pie.

I was laughing with my Mom about the fact that this pie contains 2-3 times the amount of sugar found in other apple pie recipes.  She made an interesting observation.  She thought that if I used an apple that was sweeter I wouldn’t use as much sugar.

This may be true – but boy do I love the tart apples with the sweet filling.

Start by peeling the apples (you’ll need about 5).  Then slice ’em up.  I like mine in long thin slices.  I think they make a pretty pie.

Toss the apple slices into a saucepan and add 1/2 a stick of diced butter.

Put the sauce pan (currently holding 1/2 stick of butter & 5 sliced apples) on stove top & add:

• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar (I use cane juice crystals)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 6 tbsp flour

Stir it all up and turn the heat to medium.  Be careful not to crush all your pretty apple slices.  As things get hot the sugar will melt and you will have apple slices swimming in buttery-wonderfulness.  Once all the sugar is melted and beginning to bubble remove from heat.  We need to thicken the sauce.

Is it just me?  I like my pie to stay together.  There’s nothing worse than a gorgeous, perfectly-browned pie that runs all over the plate when you slice it.

I don’t want liquid pie.  I don’t want my pie filling to be the consistency of syrup.  I want my pie to stay pie when I slice it.

This is why I add flour.  Make sure you are adding just flour…  Not bread flour, not self-rising flour, not baking mix, no funny stuff, just flour or your pie will be a disaster and so will your oven.

The secret to adding flour directly to your pie filling is to take it off the heat for a minute or two.   Dump in the flour and immediately stir well.   If you accidentally add flour to boiling liquid you could end up with dumplin’s in you pie.  To prevent this, just allow the filling to cool a couple minutes.

That’s it.  Filling is done.  The flour will cook in the oven as the pie bakes.

Pour your filling into your piecrust and top with a second crust.  Pie crust recipe here (the pie crust post explains how to roll & move crusts). 

After you have the top crust in place work your way around the pie gently pressing on the edges.  The purpose of this is to “seal” the bottom and top crusts together.  Next, take a sharp knife and trim off the extra crust (the part hanging over the edges).

Now, cut some slits in the top of your pie.  This will allow the pie to breathe and it looks pretty too.

Crimp your edges if you want to get fancy.  I use my thumb and finger.  To prevent your fingers from sticking to the pie crust get them wet before crimping. 

Melt some butter and use a pastry brush to coat the top of your pie.

Sprinkle the top of the buttered pie with some sugar (I use more cane juice crystals). 

I add a super-light dusting of cinnamon on top.

Bake 340 degrees until it’s done.  Which is usually 45 minutes in my oven.  

Since I don’t like pies that run all over my plate, I am going to let this cool before I even think about cutting into it.

Warm pie is wonderful.  Hot “apple pie soup” is not.

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Serve warm (not hot) with homemade vanilla ice cream (best ice cream here)…..

Oh Yes Please!!!

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-Candi

Print Recipe

Old Fashioned Apple PIe

This is the best apple pie I have ever eaten. It's not too sweet, it's rich and buttery, and the apples are perfectly tart. This pie recipe has even won 1st place in the Apple Festival here in our little town.

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

pie

Servings

pie

Ingredients

• 5 Apples Peeled & sliced
• 1/2 stick butter diced
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups cane sugar
• 6 tablespoons fresh milled flour
• butter more for brushing
• sugar more for sprinkling
• cinnamon more for sprinkling

Course Dessert Cuisine pie Servings pie Ingredients 5 Apples Peeled & sliced 1/2 stick butter diced 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 cups cane sugar 6 tablespoons fresh milled flour butter more for brushing sugar more for sprinkling cinnamon more for sprinkling

Recipe Notes

Combine butter & apple slices in sauce pan and place on stovetop in saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon & vanilla and stir.  Be careful not to crush the apple slices.  Continue stirring over medium heat until the sugar is melted.  Once things are melted and beginning to bubble remove from heat and let cool for a minute. Do not add four to boiling liquid. The secret to adding flour directly to your pie filling is to take it off the heat for a minute or two.   Dump in the flour and stir well (immediately).

Pour filling into a piecrust and top with a second crust.  For my Pie crust recipe go here.  Gently press on the edges of the pie to seal the 2 crusts together.   Trim off excess crust & cut some slits in the top of your pie to vent.  Crimp edges of pie if desired.

Melt some butter and use a pastry brush to coat the top of your pie.  Sprinkle with some sugar & dust with cinnamon.

Bake 340 degrees until it's done.  Which is usually 45 minutes in my oven.

Serve warm (not hot) with homemade vanilla ice-cream (best ice-cream here).

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