I couldn’t apple season go on any longer without making a double crust apple pie. I tried being a little adventurous with the apple bread pudding and apple pie biscuits, but sometimes, it’s nice sticking with the classics.
My goal in life (one of many), is to make a flakey, buttery crust using a food processor. I grew up in a house where you either used a fork or your hands to blend the butter into the flour. My favorite crust recipe so far has been Martha’s pate brisee.
For the apples, I decided to go with a four-apple blend of gala, granny smith, honey crisp and jazz. I also decided to play around with the top crust and tried an egg wash on top.
As soon as the pie came out of the oven, I cut a slice, put it in a cup and threw a scoop of ice cream on top and went to my happy place.
Double Crust Apple Pie
for the crust
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
for the filling
- 4-5 apples of your choice (, peeled and sliced to ¼ in thick)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ¼ – ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- pinch ground clove
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- egg wash (, optional)
make the filling
- In a large bowl combine apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon and cloves. Put in microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside while you make the crust.
make the crust
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
- With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
assemble the pie
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Roll the one dough ball out on a lightly floured surface into a 12″ round, then fit into a 9″ pie plate. Add the apple filling and sprinkle the butter on top. Roll the remaining dough ball out on the lightly floured surface into a 10″ round and lay on top of the filling. Cut off any excess with knife. Crimp the edges decoratively, and cut a few slits in the top of the pie. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until bubble appear through the slits in the crust. Let cool before slicing.
