Mels Apple Pie Recipes

TOM'S MOM'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the pie crust: Place the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse once or twice to evenly incorporate. Add the butter and lard and pulse until the fat is broken down into pea-size pieces, 5 to 6 pulses. Add the cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the cold water and pulse to combine. Continue adding a tablespoon of water at a time and pulsing after each addition until the dough just comes together (you may not need the full 1/3 cup water). Remove the dough from the food processor and form a third of the dough (about 9 ounces) into a disk. Form the remaining two-thirds of the dough (about 1 pound) into another disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the dough disks from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes to take the chill off.
• For the filling: Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Put the apple slices in a large bowl and stir in the sugar mixture and orange juice. Mix to combine.
• Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the larger disk of dough into a 13-inch round. Transfer to a 10-inch pie dish. Pour the apple filling into the shell and then evenly distribute the butter pieces over the apples. Roll out the second disk of dough into an approximately 11-by-10-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into six strips, about 11 inches long by 1 1/4 inches thick.
• Form a lattice top by laying 3 parallel dough strips vertically across the pie. Fold the middle strip of dough in half back over itself and lay one piece of dough horizontally across the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the other dough strips. Fold the original strip of dough back down. Next, lift the other two strips of dough and fold them back over themselves. Lay another strip of dough perpendicular to the folded-over dough pieces. Fold those pieces back down and repeat on the other side with the remaining piece of dough. Trim the dough around the edges of the pie dish so there is no more than a 1/2-inch overhang.
• Fold the bottom crust up and over the edges of the lattice top and crimp the edges together between your forefingers and thumbs. Place the pie on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and cover the edges with foil or a pie crust shield. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the filling begins to bubble, another 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool at least 1 hour.
• For the mascarpone whipped cream: Combine the mascarpone, cream and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks and is thick. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. (This can be made the day before.)
• Cut the pie into slices and top with the mascarpone whipped cream.

APPLE PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim to 1 in. beyond edge of plate. In a large bowl, combine the pears, apples, 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer mixture to crust; dot with butter. , Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges. Add decorative cutouts if desired. Brush with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cover edges loosely with foil. , Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 30-35 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

TOFFEE CRUMBLE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Roll out and place one pie crust into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate, trimming to the edge of the pie plate all the way around. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the filling, in a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine. Add vanilla and cream and mix.
• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apple mixture and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring often (and adjusting the heat if the apples start to stick to the bottom of the pot) to soften the apples just a bit.
• Scoop the apple mixture into the pie shell and spread evenly.
• In the same bowl you used for the filling dry ingredients, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped toffee bars. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the apples.
• Roll out the top pie crust and place it on top of the pie. Leave a 1/4- to 1/2-inch overhang all the way around. Fold the top crust over the bottom crust and underneath. Press lightly to seal. Flute the edges and cut a few long slits in the top to vent the pie.
• Beat the egg white with a teaspoon of water and brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet (to avoid any potential leaks dripping into your oven) and bake for about 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden and the apples are soft and tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

APPLE CRUMBLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Refrigerate the pie crust (in the pan) while preparing the filling/topping.
• For the apple filling, in a large bowl, add the sliced apples. Add in the brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir the mixture carefully (to avoid breaking apart the apples) until it is evenly combined. Set aside.
• For the crumble, in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Drizzle the melted butter over the ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until the mixture is crumbly (sometimes I ditch the spoon and get my hands right in there to get it mixed).
• Fill the chilled pie crust evenly with the apple mixture - if the apples have released a lot of liquid, do your best to transfer just the apples and thick, sugary mixture to the pie plate and leave most of the thin liquid in the bowl (once the apples are in the pie plate, I drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of leftover liquid over the pie and discard the rest; don't panic if there isn't much liquid at all).
• Place the pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Spread the crumble topping evenly over the top of the apples.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes (covering loosely with foil the last 10-15 minutes, if the pie crust or crumble is overly browning) until the filling is hot and bubbling and the crust is evenly browned.
• Let the pie cool to room temperature (or just slightly warm) before serving. It will thicken and set up as it cools.

MAIDA'S BIG APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the filling, melt the butter in a large pan with a cover. Add apples and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Cover pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until apples have exuded juices. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender. About a third will have disintegrated, and the rest of the apple slices should remain intact. Cool the filling. May be made several days in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
• To form the pie, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set a rack in the lowest level. Roll dough to about a 16-inch diameter and center on pan. Spoon filling into center of disk of dough and fold overhanging dough in toward center of pie. Brush the top of the folded-over dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar.
• Bake the pie about 40 minutes, until the dough is a deep golden color and the filling is bubbling. Cool slightly before serving. Or cool completely and reheat before serving

BLUE RIBBON APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Roll out one half of the pie dough and place in a 9-inch pie plate (how-to on rolling out pie dough here). Trim the crust to the edge of the pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Toss the apples, 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, zest, salt, and cinnamon together in a large large pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender when poked with a fork but are not mushy, about 10-12 minutes. Don't over cook in this step as the apples will finish cooking and softening up in the oven.
• Transfer the apples and their juice in an even layer to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain the cooled apples thoroughly in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Stir the lemon juice into the reserved 1/4 cup of apple juice.
• Spread the apples into the dough-lined pie plate, mounding them slightly in the middle, and drizzle with the lemon juice mixture.
• Roll out the second piece of dough and drape it over the pie. Trim the top crust so there is about a 1/4-inch or slightly longer overhang all the way around the pie. Tuck this overhang under the bottom crust (see details here) so the pie is sealed. Crimp the edges (how-to here or here).
• Cut four gashes in the top of the pie with a sharp paring knife for venting. Brush the crust lightly with the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining one tablespoon sugar.
• Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until the juices are bubbling and the crust is deep golden brown, about 25-30 minutes longer.
• Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

DEEP-DISH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan, melt the butter. Add the apples and saute for 2 minutes. Add the sugars, lemon juice and flour. Continue to saute for 2 minutes. Season the apples with nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat. Mix in the pecans. Cool the mixture.
• Lightly dust a surface with flour. Cut the dough in half. Roll out each half to 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick. Fold 1 circle of dough in fourths. Carefully lift the dough and place in a 10-inch deep-dish pie pan. Unfold the pie dough and spoon the apples into the pie shell. Place the second round of dough over the apples. Using a sharp knife cut away the excess dough. Using your fingers, crimp the edges of the pie firmly to seal the dough completely. With the same sharp knife, make 3 slits, about 4 inches long and 2 inches apart, across the pie dough. Brush with the beaten egg, place the pie in the oven, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Return the pie to the oven and continue to cook for 8 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Let cool to room temperature before slicing, about 1 hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
• Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingers, work in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water and work with your fingers until the water is incorporated and the dough comes together. Add more water as needed just until the dough comes together, being careful not to over mix. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

MOM'S HARVEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples, orange zest, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well. Roll out the bottom dough and place it into a 9-inch pan, leaving 1-inch of pie dough hanging over. Pour the pie filling into the crust. Roll out the top dough and cut it with a scalloped pastry wheel into 15 strips. Gently twist the strips 2 or 3 times, beginning with the longest ones, and place them on top of the pie, working outward and in various angles. Gently fold the bottom crust up over the edge of the pie and flute the edges with your fingertips. With a pastry brush, gently brush the half-and-half over the entire top crust and edges and then sprinkle generously with sugar.
• Bake until apples are cooked, about 45 to 50 minutes. (You can check the apples with a fork to make sure they are tender). Remove to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MOM'S APPLE PIE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (225 degrees C). Fit bottom crust into a 9 inch pie plate.
• In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Spoon apples into pan.
• Dot apples with butter or margarine, then sprinkle with whiskey. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake an additional 40 minutes. Serve warm.

AUNT CAROL'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Peel and slice apples. Toss with sugars, cinnamon and flour. Set aside.
• Roll crust to make slightly larger to fit 10-inch glass pie pan. Fit bottom crust in pie pan. Turn in apple mixture and dot with butter. Put crust on top and crimp edges of crust together.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Wet hands with water and dampen top of pie. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Puncture top of pie with fork so the steam can escape.
• Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for about 45 minutes more, until crust is golden brown. It's a good practice to place a piece of aluminum foil slightly larger than the pie under the pie plate to catch overflows. Serve warm.

MISS HATTIE'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
• Shred the apples into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Mix well and place in bottom crust. Dot the top with 3 tablespoons butter.
• On a cutting board, place rolled out (or packaged) pie crust. With a leaf or apple cookie cutter, cut shapes from the pie crust. Position the cutouts all over the top of the pie, leaving small spaces between cutouts for the vent holes.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove pie from oven and brush with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Place a piece of aluminum foil under the pan in case it boils over.

EMILY'S FAMOUS APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a small bowl stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and cloves.
• Place one of the pie shells into a 10 inch pie pan. Put 1/2 of the sliced apples into the shell and sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over them. Top with the remaining apples and the remaining sugar mixture.
• Cover apples with the top crust. Press edges with the tines of a fork to seal and poke holes in the top with a knife. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

MEL'S BLENDER PIE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch pie pan.
• Place the eggs, flour, milk, sugar, coconut, and vanilla extract into a blender. Blend on high speed until the coconut has been finely chopped. Pour this mixture into the prepared pie pan; sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature; refrigerate until cold before serving.

MIMI'S MAINE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Peel and slice the apples.
• Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
• Mix lightly through the apples.
• Heap into a pastry-lined 9" pie plate.
• Dot with butter.
• Adjust top crust and flute the edges; cut vents.
• Bake in a 425 degree oven 50-60 minutes or till crust is browned and apples are done.
• NOTE: I put thin strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the pie before I bake it so that the edges don't burn; I take them off the last 10 minutes or so, just to make sure they are browned up.

COLORADO MEL'S APPLE CRANBERRY CRISP

Steps:

• Combine fruit, sugar, flour, and cinnamon and put into 8" square glass baking dish.
• Combine flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, and softened butter until crumbly.
• Sprinkle over the fruit mixture in the pan.
• Bake at 375 for approximately 35 minutes (or until crisp browns and apples are cooked through). Reduce heat to 350 if at high altitude.
• Serve with cool whip or whipped cream or ice cream or -- :).