After a decade of trying (and by “trying” I mean “giving it a go once or twice a year because I’m not that into failure”), I have finally baked a really good apple pie. And I even baked another one the next day just to prove to myself it wasn’t a fluke!
The only problem I have in sharing my victory with you is that I’m not quite sure what finally made the difference. You see, I was so determined to conquer apple pie this year that I started reading articles and blogs a couple of months ago to try and figure out where I was going wrong. Then, I wound up changing quite a few things from my normal (read: “futile”) routine. So, in the end, I’m not sure what did it, but if you follow this formula, I promise you will be a very happy baker.
First off, the crust. Bon Appetit calls it the “Best-Ever Pie Crust” and I’ll agree it’s the best one I’ve ever found. This makes two crusts so if you follow my lead and go with an apple crumb pie, you can freeze the other crust for up to three months. (Thank you, Orangette, for that suggestion.) And the key is not to over-mix the dough. You’ll want to see fingernail sized chunks of butter and shortening in your dough disk.
