| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | One 9-or 10-inch pie |
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 orange, zested
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
- 6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water
Instructions
- 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.
Reviews
Everyone loved this pie. The orange really gave it a nice touch. I used half Granny Smith and half Fuji apples as well as refrigerated Pillsbury crust and then followed the recipe instructions. You have to cut the apple exactly as she says – the apples were perfect consistency and the pie not too sweet or too tart (I think the Fuji apples helped it not be too tart). The video really helps too. The taste really brought on a feeling of the holidays.
I love the addition of the orange, it mingles so nicely with the other flavors. However, this recipe, as someone who has made quite a few pies, needs an adjustment in two things. First, 1/2 cup of sugar is not enough for granny smith apples because they are the tartest apple you can get. It needs at least 1.5 cups (white & brown mixture ). Also, you will need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour to the apples (total of 1/2 cup flour) otherwise you will have a soupy apple pie and that’s not fun.
Not a good recipe! The flavor of the apples are destroyed by the citrus! It was a huge disappointment considering the time put into it. I wish I read some of the reviews before making this.
I made this a couple of times but ea h time it comes out mushy like apple sauce! I followed it to a T, what am I doing wrong? I used Granny Smith apples?!
I’ve made this pie before and it turned out perfect!
After reading the comments, the most critical part of successfully baking an apple pie are the type of apples you use or it will turn out like “mush or applesauce”.
Great baking apples: Braeburn, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or McIntosh. Food Network has a list of best apples for baking and lists a few that pair well together.
The last time I baked the pie, I used two different kinds of apples.
I wouldn’t use precut apples, apples tend to get mushy pretty quickly after being cut. To cut down on the work, I have an old fashioned apple peeler/corer where you place the apple on a machine and turn the handle. I bought it at Williams-Sonoma and it’s a great investment if you don’t like peeling several apples, potatoes, etc.
As far as the zest, I can zest long strips so I chop them up a bit.
Next time I make this pie, I’m adding cranberries to be more festive for the Christmas season.
Made the recipe exactly, very disappointed. The citrus, both the lemon zest and orange zest, and the lemon juice and orange juice dominated the taste and made it tart. Sorry Ina , this one is a fail.
This is a great recipe but be careful about your Apple selection for a great pie.
Also, do not forget to foil the edges and adjust your oven for different altitudes over 3500 ft..
Use convection bake if possible.
Also, do not forget to foil the edges and adjust your oven for different altitudes over 3500 ft..
Use convection bake if possible.
We ended up with a off tasting pie.. not going to make this recipe again
Mushy apples and the orange zest and allspice did not do this okie any flavors. Maybe it’s just me being a southern cook…. Moving in to a different recipe next time.
Mushy apple pie. Great crust.