Sara Jos Apple Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat and add apples to the pan. Stir to coat with butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is evenly distributed, about 1 minute.
• In a small bowl, whisk together sugars, spices and salt. Sprinkle over the apples and toss to combine.
• Lower heat to medium and cook until apples have softened completely but still hold their shape, about 17 to 25 minutes. (Some varieties cook more quickly than others.)
• Sprinkle cornstarch evenly over the apples and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the apple mixture comes to a simmer and thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and stir in lemon juice and zest. Allow apples to cool completely (spreading them onto a rimmed baking sheet speeds this up). Apples can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to a 9- or 10-inch metal pie plate, trimming it to leave a 1/2-inch overhang. Place crust in the freezer for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to bake, place a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10- to 11-inch circle. Remove pie crust from freezer and add the cooled filling in an even layer. Cover apples with remaining dough. Press the edges together, trim the excess dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers or a press down with the tines of a fork. (Using a fork might be easier if the bottom crust is too cold to crimp.) Brush the top of the pie with cream, milk, or some beaten egg, then sprinkle lightly with sugar if you like. Using a sharp knife, cut some steam vents in the top of the crust.
• Place pie on the hot sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling bubbles in the steam vents, and the crust is golden brown. Transfer pie to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. The pie can be baked up to 24 hours ahead of serving; do not refrigerate before serving.

Steps:

• 1. Pie Crust: Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl. Mix. Add chilled butter and shortening. Cut into flour mixture using a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add a tablespoon of ice cold water at a time until dough begins to clump together. Don't over mix. Gently mold dough into two even round disks. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but okay up to two days before using.
• 2. Pie Crust Part 2: Put one disk between two pieces of floured parchment paper. Using a rolling pin and starting at the center, gently roll dough to be thin and round about 1/2 inch larger than the diameter of your pie dish. Remove top parchment and gentle turn crust dough into pie dish, remove second sheet of parchment. Smooth and adjust dough to fit pie dish. Trim edges using a butter knife to match pie dish.
• 3. Apple Pie Filling: Core, slice, and peel apples. I use a twelve section pie slicer for this. Rinse and put in large bowl. Add sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Mix until apple slices are coated. Transfer to the prepared pie dish. Scatter butter slices over pie filling. It will take 6-7 cups of apple slices to fill a pie pan depending on size.
• 4. Pie Crust Part 3: Take the second disk from fridge, and place between two pieces of floured parchment paper. Roll out the same way you did before, working from the middle out. Remove top parchment, place over top of apples, remove second parchment. Trim dough to match pie dish. Using the tongs of a fork or your fingers, press together the pie crust bottom and top to seal. Using tongs of a fork, puncture center of pie to allow steam venting.
• 5. Bake Pie at 375 degrees for 60 minutes (40 minutes covered with foil, last 20 minutes no foil). Remove. Cool. Slice. Serve. Enjoy.