We’re Adam and Joanne from inspiredtaste.net and welcome to our kitchen.
We are showing you our favorite homemade apple pie with perfectly cooked apples, a thick
and lightly spiced sauce, and a crisp and flaky crust.
Let’s start with the apples.
There’s no precooking of the apples in this recipe.
We use a lot of apples for this pie and always peel and core them before slicing.
To core the apples, I find a melon baller works well to scoop out both the seeds and the stems.
When peeled and cored, slice the apples into thin slices, about 1/4-inch thick.
Add all the apples to a large bowl then move onto the rest of the filling ingredients.
We love the combination of granulated and brown sugar for flavor and texture.
We also add a little salt.
Then the spices — here we are adding cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, ginger, and fresh grated
nutmeg.
This combination of spices scream apple pie, but aren’t too overpowering.
The filling will taste mostly like apples with a hint of sugar and spice.
We need the apples to sit with the sugars, salt, and spices for about 1 hour.
Toss them really well and then set them aside.
It’s this step that makes the pie taste amazing and have such a wonderful sauce.
Now for the pie crust.
When making pies, we always use our homemade pie crust recipe — it’s on the blog and
there is a video on our YouTube channel.
We are making a double crust pie, so roll out half of the pie dough.
We do this on a well floured work surface.
Check for the correct size by inverting the pie dish over the dough.
The dough should be slightly larger than the dish.
Roll the dough onto your rolling pin then carefully unroll it into the pie dish, being
careful not to stretch the dough as you place it down.
Trim overhanging dough to within 3/4-inch of the edge of the dish.
Then fold the overhang underneath itself, forming a thick rim.
If there isn’t enough dough for the rim in spots, take some from the dough that you
cut away earlier and use it as a patch.
Roll out the second half of the dough to a similar size and transfer it to a large parchment-lined
baking sheet.
Chill this and the pie dish until needed.
After an hour of the apples sitting with the sugar, salt, and spices, it looks like this.
The apples have softened a bit and they’ve released quite a bit of liquid.
To make sure the liquid thickens into a sauce when baked, we add some starch.
I’m adding cornstarch, but tapioca starch works, too.
Amounts for both are in the recipe on Inspired Taste.
Toss the starch with the apples.
Place the apples into the prepared pie dish, pressing them down and layering them so that
there are no holes.
Before I add it to the pie, we want to show you how much liquid is left in the bowl.
This measures out to be 3/4 cups and we are going to use all of it.
It’s okay if your apples release a little less or a little more.
Now add a bit of butter — I love the silkiness this provides the sauce.
The last step is to get the top crust on.
You can add it whole and cut a few slits down the middle or you can lattice the crust.
We’ve shared an in-depth tutorial for lattice crusts before, but we’ll walk you through
it quickly.
To lattice the crust, cut the rolled out dough into 1-inch strips.
Lay five strips down onto the pie, leaving some space between them.
Fold the second and fourth strip back then lay another strip down and then place the
folded strips back down.
Next, fold the first, third and fifth back and place another strip of dough.
Repeat this until the pie is covered.
I know that sounded complicated but it is much simpler than it sounds.
Trim excess dough from the lattice strips, and then press the top crust into the bottom.
Place the pie onto a parchment lined baking sheet to catch any filling that bubbles out
during baking.
Just before sliding the pie into the oven, brush over some egg wash — this is made
with an egg and a splash of water and helps to make the crust golden brown and shiny.
Bake the pie, turning a few times for even browning, until the the juices are bubbling.
For more ways to tell when the apple pie is done, check our article on the blog.
When the pie is done, it’s very important to cool it.
A pie that’s still warm won’t be as set in the middle and the filling might just pool
out on you.
A little patience will guarantee a pie that holds its shape.
And that’s it, incredibly delicious homemade apple pie with perfectly cooked apples, a
thick and lightly spiced sauce, and a crisp and flaky crust.
Enjoy!
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