Award Winning Apple Pie

Growing up, I admired my father’s cooking skills and my mother’s baking skills. They never failed (and still don’t) at making delicious home cooked meals. It was a sin in the King household to buy anything frozen or prepackaged in a box. I remember the day I had my first packaged rice krispy treat… it was tragic. Since then, I’ve been a snooty southern foodie who is constantly on the search for good food. And if I can’t find something that tastes like my momma’s, I make it myself.

When I moved out of my parent’s house and had to learn how to be an adult, baking dessert (specifically apple pie) was at the top of my list. My roommate in college, also named Madison, hated me for constantly making sweet and sugary desserts when she was being a good person and eating healthy food. This meant I was sending all of my baked goods to my boyfriend’s house that he shared with 4 other guys. Requests for apple pie became so frequent from the guys that I went from making pies with store bought frozen crust and canned apple slices to making everything from scratch within just a couple of months. I even wear an apron now! 🙂

My award winning pie is now a holiday favorite and one of my most requested items to bake for get togethers! I hold my apple pie recipe near and dear to my heart and vowed to never share it…. until now. My Granny has always told me to be kind and share, so I’m doing this to make her proud this holiday season.

Let me start by explaining that making anything from scratch can be intimidating, especially for beginners. What’s amazing about my recipe is that it’s very simple.

I preheat the oven to 400 degrees and start on the pie crust.

For the crust, I use 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, ¾ chilled Crisco baking sticks, and 8 tablespoons of ice cold water. Blend the flour, salt, and shortening in a large bowl until coarse crumbs form. Stir in the water and shape the dough. Divide the dough in half and shape each ball into a disk, wrap in cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While my dough is chilling, I start working on my apples. I try to buy my apples from local farmers at the Farmer’s Market or at Southside Produce to support local farmers. To speed up the process and prevent injuries, I use the Williams-Sonoma apple peeler/corer. I then cut the apples into smaller pieces with my Cutco paring knife. Once the apples are prepared, I mix 1 cup of sugar, ¼ cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of McCormick Apple Pie Spice into a large bowl.

At this point I switch back to my dough. Roll out each dough disk into a size that is large enough for the pie plate on a lightly floured surface. Place the thin dough into the plate and pack the apples tight so that the apples don’t fall apart in each slice. Top the pie with the other dough disk and add cinnamon and sugar. The pie bakes between 55-65 minutes and will be ready when the filling begins to bubble and the crust is golden brown.

Apple Pie Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoons McCormick Ground Cinnamon

2 teaspoons of McCormick Apple Pie Spice

¼ cup of flour

4-8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pie crusts.

Mix sugar, apple pie spice, flour, and cinnamon.. Sprinkle over apples in large bowl; toss to coat well.

Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate.

Top with second pie crust. Seal and flute edge. Cut small slits in top crust.

 

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon of salt

¾ chilled Crisco baking sticks

8 tablespoons of ice cold water

 

Directions:

Blend the flour, salt, and shortening in a large bowl until coarse crumbs form. Add water and shape the dough.

Divide dough in half and shape each ball into a disk. Wrap in cling wrap.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out each dough disk on a lightly floured surface.

Place the thin dough into the plate and pack the apples tight.

Top pie with the other dough disk and add cinnamon and sugar.

 

I’ve honestly never heard of anyone who doesn’t like apple pie. How can you not love the warm, fuzzy feeling gives you!? 🙂

*Pro tip: Serve with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Icecream on top!