Tis the season for baking! As easy as pie? You bet! This is no store bought! It’s real, luscious and completely satisfying–you will find new best friends with this one; they’ll flock to you! I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and incorporated the “salted caramel” aspect and it’s a winner! The brown sugar offers the caramely, buttery flavor and the salt, well, the salty notes. No need to fear, I will take through each step. This apple pie is award winning; firm not runny, perfectly sweet with the perfect amount of spices. It is sure to become one of your family’s favorites–it is in ours. If the homemade crust intimidates you, a good quality, store bought crust will do, but this classic pie crust is well worth the little time and effort…it’s buttery, flaky and simply AMAZING! So, get that rolling pin out, and join me for a tasty, appley, spicy adventure!

PS…Check out this peeler, slicer gadget! If you use and enjoy apples in any form, it’s a must!

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for bench and cutters

2 tablespoons sugar

½-1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 tablespoons ice water mixed with 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, plus more as needed

Filling:

3-4 pounds cooking apples (7-8 cups) sliced thin…I used the peeler corer slicer

1/2 lemon, juiced

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4- 1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly

2 teaspoons apple pie seasoning (or 2 tsp ground spices; 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves & a pinch of nutmeg)

1 teaspoon fine salt

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon instant tapioca

1 tablespoon course sugar

1/2 tsp course ground sea salt

Chef’s Note: You can increase the amount of sugar to 2 cups, depending upon your sweet tooth 🙂

For the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cold butter.

Pulse the processor until the mixture resembles fine sand. Remove lid and add ice water vinegar to mixture. Run processor just until mixture rolls itself into a little ball. If mixture is a bit dry, add more ice water by the tablespoonful until it comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. With a bench scraper or knife, divide the mixture evenly in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. Dough will keep in the refrigerator for a few days or you may freeze for later use.

Preheat the oven to 425*

Flour a rolling pin and roll out 1 pie crust over a piece of floured waxed paper roll to about a 12-inch round and drape over a 9 1/2-inch pie plate—remember curbs not driveways. Roll out the other pie crust to about a 10-inch round. Scatter tapioca on the bottom—this will prevent a soggy bottom

Filling: Peel, core and thinly slice apples (corer, peeler, slicer highly recommended) add lemon juice and stir gently. Whisk flour, sugar, spices and salt in another bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Stir flour mixture into apples and mix well. Pour into pie crust. Scatter with pieces of butter. Top with 2^nd 10 inch round. Crimp edges to seal. Cut a hole in the center and make several slits in between. Sprinkle top with course sugar & salt.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake until crust is golden; about 55-65 minutes. If the edges brown too fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.