I’ve made an apple pie the easy way and the hard way, and I have to say I prefer the easy way!
Making a pie crust isn’t all that difficult, but sometimes I lack the drive to start one from scratch. I especially lose that drive when I know I want to add pretty pieces to that crust, so my cheat is to do all of the hard work apple picking, and then buy frozen crusts for the rest.
The rest of my recipe is quick and easy, and it only takes me about 20 minutes of prep time before my pie hits the oven!
Here are the ingredients you need to get started:
4 Pie Shells (I like Tenderflake)
8 MacIntosh apples (or any kind you love that are sweet), peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup of Flour
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Large Egg, Beaten
I usually start with pulling the pie shells out of the freezer so they have time to warm up to room temperature, and I set the oven to 400 degrees.
Next I peel, core and slice my apples. I use a large bowl to hold the ingredients, and I juice half the lemon into it. From there I drop my apple slices into the bowl, and I usually slice them very thin.
As I drop more apple slices inside I squeeze a bit more lemon on top of the apples.
Next I mix in the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and a bit of lemon zest. Once it’s all mixed together I add it to one of my pie crusts. I normally pile the apples a little higher in the middle. Next I add in a few slices of the butter in random spots across the top.
Now for the fun part – making it pretty! I love the way a pie looks when it’s weaved across the top. Since the pie crusts have been sitting at room temperature they are easier to manipulate and cut, so I slice them all into strips, and evenly weave them across the top. Once I like the look of my weaving, I press each end into the pie crust for baking.
For the next part I use the remaining pie crusts to freestyle any designs I want on my pie. For this one I cut out different leaves for fall. This part is the most fun!
I beat a large egg and brush it onto the top of the pie, and any spots I want those leaves to stick on the crust. Normally each piece sticks pretty well on it’s own, but I use the egg wash to keep everything together.
Finally I sprinkle a little sugar, and pop it into the oven for 45 minutes.
Once it’s bubbling and brown I remove it from the oven and that’s it! It’s so much easier not making the crust, and I think it tastes just as delicious! I love using this little cheat when I need to make more pies and desserts for a big dinner.
That’s it! I hope you love this quick and easy apple pie recipe, but I definitely admire you if you choose to make the crust yourself!
Items in this post may have been provided to me for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own.