Old – fashioned apple pie
It feels like a lifetime ago when I baked my first apple pie. I’ve been using the same recipe and technique for years until, quite by accident, I saw a TV show where the baker added cubed pieces of butter to the filling just before covering it with the top crust. Right there and then, I could imagine the effect, I tried the technique once and have been using it since.
The really funny thing is that I saw it on a show that I don’t even remotely like. Party Planner with David Tutera on the Travel & Living Channel. I don’t enjoy his over-the-top party ideas but, once in a while, the episodes include segments taken in the kitchens of restaurants where the food is ordered and, sometimes, chefs actually demonstrate what makes their concoctions a cut above the rest. I’ve seen some of these segments though rarely do I finish entire episodes. I don’t even remember what the party theme was in that episode where I saw the chef adding butter to the apple pie filling. But the butter trick works.
To make a 12-inch apple pie, you will need:
For the crust:
2-1/2 c. of all-purpose flour
1/2 c. of butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 c. of vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)
1 tsp. of salt
2 tbsps. of sugar
about 1/3 c. of ice cold water
For the filling:
18 cooking apples, peeled and cores removed
juice of half a lemon
3/4 c. of sugar
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 c. of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of ground nutmeg
1/3 c. of butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 350oF.
Prepare the crust.
In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and shortening.
Cut the butter and shortening into the flour (I do this by rubbing with my fingers) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add ice cold water, little by little, mixing as you go until the dough can be gathered into a ball. The dough should NOT be sticky.
Divide the dough into two portions, one slightly larger than the other. Take the larger portion and roll between two large pieces of baking (wax) paper, starting at the center and rolling outward in all directions.
Keep rolling until the dough is less than a quarter of an inch thick.
Remove the top layer of wax paper. Lift the dough by holding the edges of the bottom piece of wax paper and invert onto the pie dish. Peel off the wax paper and pat the dough to fit into the dish snugly.
Roll the remaining piece of dough but keep it covered with wax paper.
Click to page 2.
Comments
26 Responses to “Old – fashioned apple pie”Trackbacks
Some related discussions...-
[...] following appear in the old-fashioned apple pie entry but I am posting the pie crust recipe as a stand-alone entry for easy reference so I [...]
If you want your own pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Stay updated!
View the archive
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Oct | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||
Cassava bibingka with custard topping
Halang – Halang
Zebra cake
Sweet & sour fish
Pork steak 2
Appetizers
Asian
Birthdays & Parties
breakfast club
cakes
cheese
Chinese
chocolate
Christmas & New Year
Cooking for one
Daddy cooks!
Filipino
Italian Job
muffins & cupcakes
omelet
pasta
salads
School lunchbox
spring rolls
Superb soups
Conversations
- Crisma on 'Chocolate chip cookies with fresh mint': How many cookies were you able to make, Connie? And...
- cia on 'Lemon chicken': can i use the ordinary ginger instead of the turmeric? thanks…
- RobKSA on 'Honey-glazed, herb-crusted whole leg of lamb': Since no pork here in Saudi Arabia, this is a...
- MAria on 'Baked macaroni': ive been using this recipe of urs as my recipe for bake mac my famly here in...
- solraya on 'Chocolate chip cookies with fresh mint': I love chocomint too! This is a great one, why...
Looks very yummy, Connie! Thanks for sharing the detailed steps, I’ll try it this weekend. Do you have a preferred brand of apple for apple pie? Would any red apple do?
Wow, I just had lunch. Para na rin akong nagdessert!
Hello Ms. Connie,
I think am gonna try making this tomorrow. Just one question. Is Fuji apple a cooking apple?
Have a nice weekend!
Diobs and Beng, cooking apples are usually larger and more dense. But me, I use just about any kind of apples hehehe
Ms. Connie thanks for sharing for apple pie recipe. Meron po ba kayong “french style” apple pie recipe? Yung may streusel at cheese on top? I’m gonna try this recipe with my left over kraft caramel cubes for added sweetness. More power to you.
I do. But I still have to tweak the streusel topping to make it crunchier. Stay tuned.
Would it be ok to substitute this with eating apples? Naaasiman kasi ako sa cooking apples.
When I do apple crumbles, I use eating apples wala naman akong makita o malasahang difference.
Eating apples contain more water and are sweeter. I’ve used them before but they need more flour and less sugar.
that’s probably why i don’t seen any difference, sa crumble kasi wala namang flour except sa toppings.
My daughter’s favorite.
One of the favorites of my younger daughter. What is it with girls and apple pie, eh?
Connie,
I usually pre-cook my apple chunks before baking the pie. It makes for a more thicker and sweeter filling.
I also sprinkle sugar on the top of the crust after I brush it with milk.
I tried pre-cooking (I think it was your advice from a long ago blog entry
) and, yes, works well. But I’m lazy LOL and the added cooking made me revert to the no cooking method. hehehe
hi smells nice most likely.
i remember I read somewhere that yung sayote is used as an apple extender sa apple pie? para hindi masyadong matapang yung apple pero yun texture would still be there.
I’ve heard that too although I’ve never tried it myself.
If sayote can be used as apple extender, it would mean two things:
1. The Apple (and Sayote) pie wouldn’t be as fattening, because sayote has a high fiber content, and
2. it would be cheaper to make.
Maybe Miss Connie should try to make it? I mean her, because it seems all her experiments turn out well :p I’m sure Miss Connie has the necessary skill.
Thank you for the entry Miss Connie! I’ll try to make it ramekin-style, so I can feel less guilty because of the smaller portions.
hello ms connie, i made the same apple pie kaya lng its not as beautiful ng syo first time ko at ng husband ko magbake, humiling kc ang daughter nmin ng apple pie. She likes apple pie a lot kaya lgi kmi sa mcdo bumibili kaya this time nung nakita ko yung step by step preparation na ginawa mo sabi ko try nmin gumawa ng hommade apple pie. Di ko pa natitikman by now kc late na nmin naluto kagabi and we need to let it cool down and chill in the fridge bago kainin, cyempre I follw your instructions. I am very excited umuwi today from work para sa apple pie LOL. your photos really help a lot in visualizing the food before and after its cooked. thanks for for a wonderful website. wag kayo mgasawa ha.
I too baked apple pies several times over the 2 decades na. Yikes! I cringe when I start thinking about this.
The techniques are very similar to yours except that I skipped the nutmeg. I too use butter to provide the syrupy caramel sauce. Some folks may wish to use tapioca instead of flour, but I prefer flour. In my last technique, I sprinkle brown demerara sugar after I’ve applied egg wash.
I’m not sure what kinds of apples are available there but as I recall you have many apples called Red Delicious which can be used as a baking apple.
I prefer using 2 different types of baking apples. Green Delicious and Macintoshes or (granny smiths). MacIntoshes and Granny Smiths are very tart apples. I use them sparingly. This way I have a balance of both sweet and tart. I have ventured to using other forms of apples but I would ask my fruit seller first what they’d recommend for baking apples. So far I have gone to back to my preferences.
Don’t use a soft apple because that has gone meally and yuck to the feel.
Hi Ms. Connie,
Can I substitute butter instead of vegetable shortening? if i can, how much butter should I use for this recipe?
Thank you!
For the crust?
HI Ms Connie,
Im planning to make an apple pie this weekend and i have all the ingredients already except vegetable shortening. Just came from hypermart and cant find vegetable shortening. I believe its usually placed near the cooking oils but didnt see one. Anyway if i cant find a vegetable shortening for the crust (based in your recipe), what can i use as substitute? Or would you know where i can buy vegetable shortening? Thanks!
Not in the oil section but in the baking section. Look for Crisco brand.
You can use just butter but the crust won’t be very flaky.
Hi Ms Connie
I think i used too many apples? In your recipe it says 18 cooking apples but i decided to used only 14 apples because when i was peeling and cutting the apples, i felt that my dish wont be able to hold that much apples anymore, more so if i add apples pa. Now Im not sure if my dish is 12inches but its the regular pie dish and I believe its 12 inches (ka sing size ng short bond paper) Anyway when i put the 14 cut apples in the crust, super overflowing nga and had to remove some. Para siyang mountain when i put the top crust (andami nung apples pa rin kasi) So now, when you get a slice nasisira siya kasi i think the filling is too much for the crust. Di niya kaya. Ms Connie I hope you dont mind me asking, do you really need 18 apples or it was a typo error and should have been 8 apples only? I intend to do it again next time kasi and have a better looking apple pie. Thanks 
I made apple pie yesterday but it didnt turn out well
18 is correct. I would have used all 24 if my arm weren’t already aching from the peeling and cutting.
Even if you have a mountain of apples, should still be okay. If your apples are watery (lots of juices like eating apples), add more flour. And don’t cut pie before it has chilled in the fridge.
ah okay.
Aside from my worry that the pie wont be able to hold all those apples, you are right I also stopped because I got tired from all the peeling and cutting. hahaha!. Oh well, i guess I’ll just do your muffins and cupcake recipes na lang for now 
i’ll do the easy ones first