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Grandma Howard's Apple Pie Recipe

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

CRUST
  • 2 cups flour
  • pinch salt
  • 3/4 cups butter, cold
  • 1/3 cup water with ice cubes in it
PIE FILLING
  • 6-7 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced do this after making the crust so apples don't get brown
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 T flour
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1 T butter
  • 1 T milk or use a beaten egg, which makes the crust shiny

Equipment

  • 1 glass pie pan 8-9"
  • 1 wooden rolling pin
  • 1 pastry cutter
  • 1 basting brush
  • mini pie crust cutters (optional)

Method
 

  1. Blend flour and salt.
  2. Cut butter into small pieces. Add to flour and blend with a pastry cutter or fork until small, oatmeal-sized crumbs form.
  3. Slowly dribble in ice water while stirring crumbly crust mixture. You'll see the crush start to clump together and get a little stretchy. Don't overstir.
  4. When it starts to clump, press together with hands.
  5. Divide into 2 balls and press into flat disk about 1" thick.
  6. Roll out each disk on a little flour until it is 2" bigger than the size of your pie dish when turned upside-down.
    Roll from the center out in firm strokes, going around the crust clockwise. Roll to the edge of the crush, flattening the edges down. (It's not like cut-out cookies where you need the same thickness throughout; instead you want your crust edges to be thinner). In the beginning, you may need to lift the crust and sprinkle a little more flour under so it doesn't stick. Sprinkle a bit of flour any time the crust sticks, but be careful not to over-flour as it'll harden the crust up.
  7. Fold your crust in half gently, then in half again to form a quarter wedge. Lay this in your pie pan and unfold. Press gently into the bottom of your pan and let edges hang over the sides of the pan.
    Roll out the 2nd crust as above, but set it aside. This will be your top crust.
  8. Slice apples and toss with the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Layer into pie dish lined with your bottom crust.
    Dab the 1 T of butter over the apples.
    Cover with the second crust. Trim the crust edges to the outer edge of the pie plate.
  9. Crimp the edges together by pinching with two fingers and "twisting" in opposite directions. Or, you can use a fork to press the crust down along the edge of the pie plate for a nice pattern.
    Cut small vent holes in the crust top to make an "A" for Apple." Add any decorations you like (some people use small cutters to add leaves or apples to the crust).
  10. Brush the crust with milk lightly to brown.
  11. Place in the oven and bake at 475 degrees F for 15 minutes.
    Lower temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake an additional 45 minutes.
    I like to put my pie on a cookie sheet lined with foil because the apple juice often spills over and makes a very sticky mess! You can also line your oven bottom generously with foil.