Favorite Deep-Dish Apple Pie

I've done it! I've finally mastered the apple pie! You may remember my apple pie post from two months ago. I loved that pie, but I overcooked the filling on the stove, so the apples were a little mushy. I wanted to try making apple pie again, but for some reason I moved on to a totally different recipe. My second try was with a Martha Stewart recipe. It's from her Baking Handbook, but I can't remember the exact name of the recipe. Anyway, it turned out horrible! I used my own crust recipe, but the problem was in the filling. It wasn't sweet at all, and the apples turned into complete mush! You would've thought I had made the pie with unsweetened applesauce! It was just horrible! So two days later I went back to the recipe I liked from "The All-American Dessert Book" by Nancy Baggett. This time I used the easy no-refrigeration oil-based crust from the grape pie because I just wasn't in the mood to wait around for my go-to crust to chill and rest in the fridge (FYI, my go-to crust recipe is here in my first apple pie post, as well as a link to the printable recipe). The oil-based crust is seriously a life-saver because you can use it as soon as you make it! It's a dream to roll out, but the only drawback is the lack of flavor. I guess you could add butter flavoring if you wanted to, but I'd rather just taste the slightly sweetened pastry. In my first apple pie I used 6 apples. In this pie I used a total of 9 apples: a combination of Braeburns, Granny Smiths, Honeycrisps, and Fujis. I spiced it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. And this time I didn't overcook the filling on the stove! It baked up perfectly in the oven, and the apples still had a nice bite to them.

If you use the oil-based crust, it gets pretty soggy after a day or two, so make this pie when you plan on eating the whole thing quickly! Otherwise, go with the butter/shortening crust in the following recipe.

Favorite Deep-Dish Apple Pie (from "The All-American Dessert Book" by Nancy Baggett)

Double crust All-Purpose Pie Pastry Dough (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour for dusting dough

FILLING
10 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples (8-11 medium baking apples; choose at least three kinds, such as Stayman, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Smokehouse, Sunrise, Granny Smith, Grimes Golden, York, and Gala) (I used 3 Braeburn, 3 Fuji, 2 Honeycrisp, and 1 Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
Scant 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 1/2-4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (use larger amount if apples are very juicy)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I increased to 1 teaspoon and added 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice and 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg)
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 tablespoon milk for brushing on dough top (mix with 1 egg yolk if using the oil-based crust as it does not brown well in the oven)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on dough top (I used turbinado sugar)

Lightly grease a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate or coat with nonstick spray (I do not spray my pie plate). If the dough is cold and stiff, let it warm up until slightly pliable but still cool to the touch. Generously dust it on both sides with flour. Roll out one dough portion between large sheets of baking parchment into a 13 1/2-inch round. Occasionally check the underside of the dough during rolling and smooth out any wrinkles. (If the dough seems sticky or limp, place in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.) Gently peel off the top sheet of paper, then pat back into place. Flip the dough; peel off the bottom sheet. Center the round, dough side down, in the pie plate. Gently peel off the remaining paper. Smooth the dough into the plate and patch any tears, if necessary. Using kitchen shears or a paring knife, trim the overhang to 1/4 inch. Prick the pastry all over with a fork (I don't prick it at all). Loosely cover the pastry and place in the freezer while you roll out the top pastry and prepare the filling.

Roll out the second portion of dough into a 13 1/2-inch round as described above. Transfer the round (paper still attached) to a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F (I preheat a pizza stone as well). In a very large, heavy non-reactive saucepan, toss the apples with the lemon juice. In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. Add the sugar mixture and butter to the apples, tossing until well blended. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-­high heat. Simmer, stirring and scraping the pan bottom, for about 3 minutes, or until the apples cook down slightly; be careful not to burn (I cook them until the juice begins to thicken, about 5 minutes). Remove from the burner. Taste and add more lemon juice, if desired.

Turn out the apple mixture into the bot­tom crust, mounding it in the center. Gently peel off the top sheet of paper from the second pastry round. Center the round, dough side down, over the filling. Peel off and discard the remaining paper. Trim the over­hang to 3/4 inch. Fold the overhang under the bottom pastry to form an edge that rests on the lip of the plate. Press the layers together firmly, then flute with your fingers or press the tines of a fork all the way around. Brush the dough top (not the edges) with the milk, then sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Cut generous slashes in the top for steam vents, using a sharp, lightly greased paring knife.

Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet (or directly on the hot pizza stone in the oven). Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Spray the under­side of an extra-wide sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick spray (or use nonstick foil). Make a foil tent over the pie top so the entire crust is cov­ered. Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the filling is bubbly. Transfer the pie to a wire rack. Let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours and preferably 4 hours or longer (for neater slices) before serving.

The pie will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days or re­frigerated for up to 2 days longer. Let come to room temperature before serving.

All-Purpose Pie Pastry Dough (Double Crust)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
7 tablespoons solid white shortening, cut or spooned into 14 pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (I increased to 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6-9 tablespoons ice water

Freeze the butter cubes and shortening pieces for 20 minutes. (I used refrigerated shortening and butter, not frozen.)

In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the all-­purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Sprinkle the chilled butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, forks, or your fingertips, cut in the fat until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few bits the size of small peas remaining. Be sure to scrape up the flour mixture on the bottom of the bowl.

Combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the processor. Pulse for 10 seconds to mix. (I re-wrote the next part of the recipe to show how I made it.) Sprinkle half the chilled butter over the flour mixture. Process with about five 1-second pulses. Stir, lift­ing up the contents on the bottom. Add the remaining butter, and pulse about 5 more times. Add shortening, and pulse 10 more times, just until the bits of fat are cut in and the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few bits the size of small peas remaining; stop halfway through and stir to redistribute the contents on the bottom. Turn out the mixture into a large bowl.

In a small bowl, measure out 6 tablespoons ice water. Using a fork, lightly combine the water mixture with the flour mixture, tossing until the water is evenly incorporated and the mixture just be­gins to form clumps, 15 to 20 strokes. Be sure to reach down to the bot­tom to be sure the flour underneath is dampened. Check the consistency by pinching a small amount of dough between your fingertips; it should hold together smoothly and be moist but not soggy. If it is crumbly or dry, sprinkle over more ice water, 2 teaspoons at a time, tossing briefly with a fork. When the water is evenly incorporated and the dough is suf­ficiently moistened to hold together when pinched, gather it up and firmly press it together with your fingertips into a smooth, dense mass. Divide the dough in half, and flatten the portions into 6-inch disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes and preferably 1 hour. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to a month; thaw in the refrigerator before using. Roll and bake as directed in the individual recipes.