Before the Pumpkin Spice Takes Over, Apple Pie

Fall has arrived, which means we are only days away from pumpkin spice taking over everything.

I like pumpkin. I do.

But I wanted apple pie.

For a while, I thought I might go to the store and buy one of those half pies. A few slices, no dishes to wash, craving handled. Then I started asking questions. What kind of flour did they use? What else was in it?

Cooking more of my own food has done this to me. A quick trip to the store becomes a conversation with myself in the bakery aisle.

Eventually, I checked what I had at home. Butter. Flour. Lemon juice. Everything I needed except the apples.

And the pie gave me a reason to bring down the apple peeler and corer that had been sitting on top of my cabinets. I bought it for a reason. It was time to remind us both what that reason was.

I made the crust, cooked the apples, and decided to try a lattice top. It looked lovely. My hand had a different opinion.

Next time, the pie is getting a plain top.

This one was worth the effort, though. The kitchen smelled like fall before the pie was even finished. I had the apple pie I’d been thinking about, made with ingredients I chose.

Pumpkin spice can have its turn later.

Apple Pie

Pie dish: 21 cm (about 8¼ inches)

Oven: 200°C (about 400°F)

Pie dough

The amounts below make one dough. Make the recipe twice: once for the bottom crust and once for the top.

• 200 g all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur unbleached, unfortified flour)
• 3 g salt (about ½ teaspoon)
• 30 g monk fruit sweetener
• 130 g cold unsalted butter
• 35 g cold water

Filling

• 8–9 apples, yielding about 1.35 kg of peeled, cored slices
• 75 g unsalted butter
• 180 g monk fruit sweetener
• 20–25 g lemon juice

I use bottled lemon juice for an easy, consistent measure. Check that it is real lemon juice.

Egg wash

• 1 egg yolk
• 15 g milk

Method

1. Make the dough. Put the flour, Salt, monk fruit sweetener, and cold butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks sandy. Add the cold water and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Bring it together by hand, fold it, and refrigerate it while you prepare the filling. Repeat for the second dough.
2. Cook the apples. Melt the butter in a pot. Add the apple slices, lemon juice, and monk fruit sweetener. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
3. Reduce the filling. Remove the lid and continue cooking, stirring often, until the extra liquid cooks off. This matters: a wet filling can leave the bottom crust soggy. Let the apples cool before filling the pie.
4. Assemble the pie. Roll out one dough and fit it into the 21 cm pie dish. Add the cooled apples. Roll out the second dough and use it for a lattice or a plain top. Fold and seal the edges. If you use a plain top, cut a few small vents so steam can escape.
5. Bake. Beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush it over the top crust. Bake on the bottom oven rack at 200°C (about 400°F) for 60–65 minutes, until the crust is golden. If the top browns too quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.

Let the pie cool before slicing. The apples have waited all fall for this. A little longer won’t hurt.

Kyle J. Hayes

kylehayesblog.com

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