Mels Apple Pie Recipes

BEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add apples and lemon juice. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
• Pour apples into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter or margarine. Cover with top pastry. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top pastry.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

APPLE PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim to 1 in. beyond edge of plate. In a large bowl, combine the pears, apples, 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer mixture to crust; dot with butter. , Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges. Add decorative cutouts if desired. Brush with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cover edges loosely with foil. , Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 30-35 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

VERLYS' APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Lay one of the pie crusts into the bottom of a pie pan. Mix 1 1/8 teaspoon and 1 1/8 teaspoon white sugar together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the pastry.
• Mound the apple slices into the pastry. Mix 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon together in a bowl; sprinkle over the apples. Dot the apples with chunks of butter. Top with remaining pie crust pastry.
• Run fingers moistened with water along edge of pie pastry in the pan. Top pie with remaining pie crust pastry and press the two pasties together along the seams to seal. Cut small slits into the top pastry for ventilation.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and continue baking until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes more.

BASIC APPLE PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl add the sliced apples. Sprinkle with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt and toss gently to combine well.
• Roll out and place an uncooked pie crust in the bottom of a deep 9-inch pie plate.
• Place the apple mixture in the uncooked pie shell. Place the small pieces of butter on top of apple mixture.
• Top with second pie crust, crimp the edges, and then cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to vent.
• Mix the egg white and 1 tablespoon of water together in a small bowl and then brush the top with water and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
• Bake at 450 degrees F. for the first 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and continue cooking for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
• If the edge of the crust starts to brown more quickly than the center, carefully cover the edge with foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning.
• Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before serving. Can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature.

APPLE CRUMBLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Refrigerate the pie crust (in the pan) while preparing the filling/topping.
• For the apple filling, in a large bowl, add the sliced apples. Add in the brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir the mixture carefully (to avoid breaking apart the apples) until it is evenly combined. Set aside.
• For the crumble, in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Drizzle the melted butter over the ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until the mixture is crumbly (sometimes I ditch the spoon and get my hands right in there to get it mixed).
• Fill the chilled pie crust evenly with the apple mixture - if the apples have released a lot of liquid, do your best to transfer just the apples and thick, sugary mixture to the pie plate and leave most of the thin liquid in the bowl (once the apples are in the pie plate, I drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of leftover liquid over the pie and discard the rest; don't panic if there isn't much liquid at all).
• Place the pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Spread the crumble topping evenly over the top of the apples.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes (covering loosely with foil the last 10-15 minutes, if the pie crust or crumble is overly browning) until the filling is hot and bubbling and the crust is evenly browned.
• Let the pie cool to room temperature (or just slightly warm) before serving. It will thicken and set up as it cools.

BLUE RIBBON APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Roll out one half of the pie dough and place in a 9-inch pie plate (how-to on rolling out pie dough here). Trim the crust to the edge of the pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Toss the apples, 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, zest, salt, and cinnamon together in a large large pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender when poked with a fork but are not mushy, about 10-12 minutes. Don't over cook in this step as the apples will finish cooking and softening up in the oven.
• Transfer the apples and their juice in an even layer to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain the cooled apples thoroughly in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Stir the lemon juice into the reserved 1/4 cup of apple juice.
• Spread the apples into the dough-lined pie plate, mounding them slightly in the middle, and drizzle with the lemon juice mixture.
• Roll out the second piece of dough and drape it over the pie. Trim the top crust so there is about a 1/4-inch or slightly longer overhang all the way around the pie. Tuck this overhang under the bottom crust (see details here) so the pie is sealed. Crimp the edges (how-to here or here).
• Cut four gashes in the top of the pie with a sharp paring knife for venting. Brush the crust lightly with the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining one tablespoon sugar.
• Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until the juices are bubbling and the crust is deep golden brown, about 25-30 minutes longer.
• Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

MEL'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Make pie crust by cutting in shortening and butter into flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon until crumbly. Then add water a little at a time until the dough will hold together in a ball. Roll out 1/2 the dough on a lightly floured surface for the bottom crust, place in pie pan. Place remaining dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Peel and cut the apples as desired, mix well with other filling ingredients. Then place in pie shell. Mound apples high as needed. Roll out top crust. Moisten finger and run around bottom edge of pie crust then place top crust on pie. Add slits for vents and crimp edges as desired. Mix the topping ingredients together, it is easier to place on top when the butter has reached a past like consistency. Smear and spread all over the pie. Check that slits are still open. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350 until it bubbles over and apples are soft. This can be anywhere from 45 minutes or so to an hour or more.