A few years ago we found the perfect apple pie recipe that we’ve made every Thanksgiving and Christmas since. It’s easy. It’s delicious. It uses a variety of apples with different flavors and textures. What more could you ask for? Well, this year my Mom came across a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine that she thought I should make. As I baked, I swore I’d never make it again, but now that we’ve enjoyed the fruits of my labor, I decided that it’s worth sharing–pain in the ass and all.
This recipe tries its hardest to undo the adage “Easy As Pie.” It’s a multi-step process that requires roasting apples that have been tossed in a sugar/flour mixture, cooling the roasted apples before mixing with one stick of butter (!), brown sugar, cinnamon and flour, chilling the apple mixture before filling into a pie crust, and freezing the filled pie before baking. Ay, yi, yi!
But, it turned out beautifully.
And, my husband said it was the best apple pie he’s ever had.
So, it looks like I will be making it again for Christmas.
If you want to start with the original recipe, please see the Brown Sugar Apple Pie recipe from Bon Appetit. Here, I share my own variation, which does not include butter and uses less sugar. The first time I made this recipe, I used Pillsbury pie crusts, because after all that effort I was ready for a shortcut and the Pillsbury crusts always turn out so well, but I’ve upped my game to all-butter pie crust following this step-by-step recipe.
Pain In The Ass Apple Pie Recipe
Step One
- 4 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2 moons (about 6-8 cups)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl, and toss the apples to coat evenly. Spread the apples onto rimmed baking sheets and/or shallow baking pans. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pans once for even cooking. Let cool.
Step Two
- Baked apples
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Transfer the cooled baked apples and their juices to a large bowl. Gently stir in the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cover and chill for at least one hour.
Step Three
- Apple pie filling
- Dough for pie crusts
Prepare double pie crusts for a 9-inch pie plate. Place the dough circle for the bottom crust into the pie plate, leaving an overhang. Spoon the chilled apple filling into the crust, spreading to distribute evenly. Top with the other dough circle, leaving an overhang. Fold the overhang of the top crust under the overhang of the bottom crust, and crimp the edges with a fork. Cut 8 slits in the top crust for venting. (I used cookie cutters to cut out star shapes.) Loosely cover and chill in freezer for 1/2 hour.
Step Four
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake pie for 30 min at 400F. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake for an additional 50-60 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. (I use a Pampered Chef pie crust shield to keep the edges from getting too browned).
Step Five
Cool for four hours before serving.
Even keeping preparation time to a minimum, this recipe takes 4 hours to make (not including the recommended four hours of cooling time)! At least while the pie is chilling, freezing, and baking you can do other things–like look for an easier pie recipe. 😉
What’s the most complicated recipe you’ve ever made?
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FOUR HOURS??
I was sitting here yesterday thinking how not excited I am to make 3 dozen latkes for a party on saturday night and now that sounds SOOO EASY 🙂
Considering the time of year, latkes do come to mind.
I have attempted croissants from scratch . . . many, many years ago. Definitely time consuming!
Oh, wow, that would take a lot of effort.
I also made a complicated chocolate pie for Thanksgiving that I swore I would never make again. Of course everyone loved it!
LOL. Just be careful it doesn’t become a “tradition” or you’ll be making it every year!
Wow, this does sound extra complicated for a pie recipe! I’m glad that the end result tasted good enough to be worth it 🙂
You know that I couldn’t pass up clicking on this post thanks to the title! And PIE! But man, this does sound like a pain in the ass. But I will admit, the last couple of apple pies that I’ve baked haven’t been great (soggy, shriveled apples and a huge domed crust). I wonder if taking all these extra steps would help…hmmm.
You’ll have to try this. The pre-baking the apples keeps them from shrinking too much so if you use TONS of apples you can end up with a big fat pie. I didn’t use as much as the original recipe called for because I was making another apple pie which didn’t turn out as well …..
Yeah, I don’t get the whole “easy as pie” comment – Pie is NOT easy to make/perfect! HA.
Haha this post cracked me up! I looooove baking, but even I have to draw the line at something that takes 4 hours to make! Although honestly if I was a bigger apple pie fan I might have to try this. It looks so good!
OMG- pain in the ass is right! It does look delicious though 🙂
You had me at pain in the ass! To funny and thanks for sharing. I don’t do complicated recipes I have trouble coordinating more than 4 things at a time! Enjoy that apple pie! wink, wink!
Hahaha – I LOVE your honesty! It sure came out well. {And why does this make me want to try and make one – even though anyone who knows me knows I’m completely incapable of mastering such a feat!!}
Well, the steps aren’t complicated, so it that way it is “easy,” and it is delicious ….
Sign me up for that pie, woman! Apple is one of my favorites.
Love the name of your Apple Pie recipe (that perfectly describes most of the recipes in Bon Appetit! I will have to try it with your husband’s ringing endorsement though!