Fresh Deep Dish Apple Pie Recipes

DEEP DISH APPLE PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together 2 and 1/4 cups flour, 2 Tbsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.
• Cut 1 1/2 sticks of COLD butter and 6 oz of cream cheese into small cubes. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces.
• Drizzle 3 Tbsp of cold heavy cream over the dough and cut into the dough with a spatula until the dough forms moist clumps.
• Divide the dough into 2 pieces, press into flat disks, cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Once its fully cooled, remove 1 piece of dough from the refrigerator and on a clean surface, roll it out into a 13-inch circle. (Dough rolls out easier without flouring the surface, use pastry scraper to lift rolled out crust). Transfer the dough to a deep dish 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate it. Take the next piece of dough out of the fridge and roll it into a 12-inch circle, cover with plastic and refrigerate while you make the fruit filling.
• Combine 9 cups of Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick with 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp salt in a bowl. Mix well and let the filling stand for 15 minutes, stirring a few times in the process.
• Take your pie dish out of the refrigerator and pour the entire apple filling mixture (juices and all) into the bottom crust and scatter pieces of 2 Tbsp of butter over the top.
• Just before putting on the top crust, brush the edge of the bottom crust with cold water. Trim any excess dough on the edge and fancy up the edge with a flute pattern. To flute, with your index finger and thumb, pinch your other index finger, now imagine there is dough in between both hands. Cut 6 to 8 slits in the top crust to vent the pie.
• Sprinkle top with the mixture of 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 2 tsp of sugar. Bake apple pie for 15 minutes at 425˚F. If you see your crust browning too quickly, cut a 3-inch hole in the center of a square piece of foil and loosely place over the top of your pie.
• Reduce oven to 350˚F, slip a baking sheet under the pie (I like to line it with foil to catch any drips) and bake another 45 minutes. For the filling to thicken properly, you have to let it cool completely (2 to 3 hours). You can keep the pie for up to 3 days on the counter.

DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
• Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don't stretch the dough; if it's too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.
• Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.
• Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.
• Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

FLAKY DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Note: if you are making a 9-inch pie you will need approximately 1/4 less ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan, melt the butter.
• Add the apples and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add the sugars, lemon juice and flour.
• Continue to saute for 2 minutes.
• Season the apples with nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
• Add pecans and Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat.
• Cool the mixture.
• Roll out each half of dough to 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick.
• Fold one circle of dough in fourths.
• Carefully lift the dough and place in a 10-inch deep dish pie pan.
• Unfold the pie dough and spoon the apples into the pie shell.
• Place the second round of dough over the apples.
• Using a sharp knife, cut away the excess dough.
• Using your fingers, crimp the edges of the pie firmly to seal the dough completely.
• With the same sharp knife, make three slits, about 4 inches long and 2 inches apart, across the pie dough.
• Egg wash the top of the pie and sprinkle with sugar. Place the pie in the oven and bake for about 55 minutes or until crust is done and juices are bubbling.
• Serve warm or cold.

DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For Pastry: Process flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about ten 1-second pulses.
• Using fork, mix sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.
• Turn dough out onto work surface. Divide dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk; wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours, before rolling. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let thoroughly chilled dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.).
• For Pie: Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, zest, and cinnamon in large bowl; add apples and toss to combine. Transfer apples to Dutch oven (do not wash bowl) and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. (Apples and juices should gently simmer during cooking.) Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. While apples cool, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place empty rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. (If dough becomes soft and/or sticky, return to refrigerator until firm.) Remove parchment from one side of dough and flip onto 9-inch pie plate; peel off second layer of parchment. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roll second disk of dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate, leaving dough between parchment sheets, until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Set large colander over now-empty bowl; transfer cooled apples to colander. Shake colander to drain off as much juice as possible (cooked apples should measure about 8 cups); discard juice. Transfer apples to dough-lined pie plate; sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Remove parchment from one side of remaining dough and flip dough onto apples; peel off second piece of parchment. Pinch edges of top and bottom dough rounds firmly together. Following illustrations 1 through 4, trim and seal edges of dough, then cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush surface with beaten egg white and sprinkle evenly with remaining teaspoon sugar.
• Set pie on preheated baking sheet; bake until crust is dark golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool at least 1 1/2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
• Freezing Instructions:.
• We tried two different methods for freezing: (1) fully assembled and ready to go directly from freezer to oven and (2) divided into separate components of crust and cooked apple filling to be thawed, assembled, and baked. Both versions were good, although the reassembled pie was deemed marginally better for its slightly flakier, more evenly browned crust. You'll probably want to choose one method or the other based on how long you expect to keep a pie (or its components) in the freezer.
• Assembled pies kept well for up to two weeks in the freezer; after that, the texture of the crust and apples suffered. To freeze an assembled pie, follow the recipe all the way through sealing the pie crust, but do not brush with egg wash. Freeze the pie for two to three hours, then wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil, and return it to the freezer. To bake, remove the pie from the freezer, brush it with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, cut slits in the top crust, and place directly on the baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer than normal.
• For a longer freezer storage time of several months, freeze the crust and apples separately. Freeze individual batches of the cooked, drained apple filling in quart-sized freezer bags (this doubles as a great alternative to canning). Then make the pie dough, shape it into two 4-inch disks, wrap the disks tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and foil, and freeze. When you're ready to make the pie, simply thaw the apples and crust in the refrigerator the night before, assemble as per the recipe instructions, and bake as directed. Of course, you can always just freeze the apples and make the crust fresh the day you bake the pie.