Simple, amazingly quick, no fuss method to produce the Universal all time favorite? My 95 year old mother-in-law has used a unique technique for, well, ever. And, at 95, that's almost the truth!
Pre-steaming the apples with the sugar, spices and lemon juice assures a delightful fruit texture and extracts the juices into the pot, where they will remain until after the pie is baked. This is the key component to keeping the crust flaky. Often, in standard apple pie recipes, the juice saturates the raw crust before it can bake, leaving a soggy bottom. Problem solved!
The preferred approach is to bake the apples in the crust, minus the liquid. Once out of the oven, the fluids are added back in through the hole in the top of the crust. The apples soak up the spiced juices! This produces a crust that is perfectly baked with apples that melt in your mouth.
There is no need to meticulously thinly slice the apples which makes the process such a time-saver.
Darn, now there are just fewer excuses for not having apple pie for dessert every night!
Pre-steaming the apples with the sugar, spices and lemon juice assures a delightful fruit texture and extracts the juices into the pot, where they will remain until after the pie is baked. This is the key component to keeping the crust flaky. Often, in standard apple pie recipes, the juice saturates the raw crust before it can bake, leaving a soggy bottom. Problem solved!
The preferred approach is to bake the apples in the crust, minus the liquid. Once out of the oven, the fluids are added back in through the hole in the top of the crust. The apples soak up the spiced juices! This produces a crust that is perfectly baked with apples that melt in your mouth.
There is no need to meticulously thinly slice the apples which makes the process such a time-saver.
Darn, now there are just fewer excuses for not having apple pie for dessert every night!
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Signing UpStep 1: Gather supplies
Ingredients for pie:
- 7 Granny Smith apples
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 lemon
- Homemade or store-bought pie crust (for double crust)
- paring knife
- pot with lid
- measuring cup (1 cup)
- rolling pin (if using a homemade pie crust)
- apple corer (optional, but it sure makes this recipe easy)
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I would love to hear back from you after you make it.
I haven't told my mother in law anything yet. We are heading north in less than a week and will visit with her the first week in April. I wanted to actually show her on the computer the entire instructible and then read all the comments to her. Being a finalist is the frosting on the cake, err, I mean pie..hehe! Not only that, but the number of views is staggering. This is gonna be like Christmas in April for her! I know she is going to be so touched. You know, at her age, "things" mean very little. I could never buy her anything that will mean as much as this. Not only that, but I'm making your pineapple pie entry for her. Her husband's specialty was a pineapple upside down cake made in an iron skillet (and it was GOOD). Making your pie will cement in her mind the whole concept of instructibles. Anyway, I'm rambling. Sorry :)
Thanks again for your kind words!
Actually I never baked an apple pie before, and this was really easy to make.
It tasted like something from a restaurant, so delicious!
Thanks!
And thanks for posting, I hope this answers your concerns!
Thanks for commenting!
Also, you say their might be too much juice when pouring it back into the cooked pie. Why not simmer it a bit, and reduce/concentrate it? Extra flavor!
DDC
If you want the apples very soft, you can just add 2 or 3 minutes to the pre-cooking part. I wouldn't go much longer than that, or you may end up with an applesauce consistency. I always use Granny Smith apples for this recipe, but that is mainly because I love the taste and consistency of them. If you use another type of apple, say a sweeter variety, you may need to play around with the quantity of sugar you use. I don't think you can go wrong substituting any apple you like. I'd love to hear what you end up using and the results :)
Thanks.