My Apple Pie

This recipe has been 11 years in the making. I started making apple pie when I was 16 because it was my first boyfriend's favorite dessert. Luckily for me, it is also Bryant's favorite dessert, and I already had 5 years of practice when we met! The recipe has changed drastically since age 16, but I am finally content to let it be. There are a lot of steps, but don't be intimidated because it is not complicated.

*Recipe includes adaptations from the following websites that may be helpful: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/ and http://www.joyofbaking.com/ApplePie.hml

Crust:
2 ½ c flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c unsalted butter (cubed into ½ inch pieces)
½ + ¼ c ice cold milk

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into flour with pastry blender. Drizzle ½ c cold milk over the mixture and stir with spatula. Add additional milk, 1 Tbs at a time, but not to exceed an additional ¼ cup. When dough clings together divide in half and pat into rounds. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1, but preferably 2, hours.

Filling:
5 to 6 apples of different varieties
(I used 3 golden delicious, 1 Fuji, 1 McIntosh, 1 Granny Smith)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
¼ c granulated sugar
¼ c brown sugar + 1/8 c brown sugar
Scant ½ tsp cinnamon
Scant 1/8 tsp cloves
2 grates of fresh nutmeg
1 vanilla bean (split in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out, pod and seeds reserved)
2 Tbs butter
¼ c whipping cream
1 Tbs + 1 tsp cornstarch

Peal, core, and thinly slice apples. Toss with lemon juice in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine sugars, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla beans seeds and vanilla bean pod. Combine sugar mixture with apples and let macerate for 30 minutes, or until you have ½ c liquid. Drain the liquid and place in large soup pot with 2 Tbs butter and vanilla bean pod and bring to a low boil. Meanwhile, toss apples with cornstarch. Boil, uncovered, until thick and syrupy and reduced to 1/3 c of liquid. Add cream. Stir in apples and bring liquid back to a low boil for about 1 minute. Return to boil and cool.

Assembly:
½ c turbinado sugar
1 egg, separated
2 Tbs cream
Roll out bottom crust and place in glass pie dish. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with no more than ¼ c turbinado sugar. Let dry about 5 minutes. Spoon in apple filling and top with crust. Seal and crimp edges. Brush with mixture of egg yolk and cream and sprinkle with remaining turbinado sugar, not to exceed ¼ cup. Cut 8 slits and bake on the lowest rack of the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes. (Cover loosely with aluminum foil is top browns to quickly!) Let cool completely (at least 3 hours) before serving.