LAURA LEE ALICE
COOKS
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I love easy recipes, especially pies, and this is one of our favorites. This is a
great recipe when you don't want to go through the hassle of making a fluted
pie crust. And I've found that more people tend to eat this crust, so it's a win
for me. At a large gathering, having two or three flavors of rustic pies will
certainly be a hit.
Ingredients
Crust:
• 1¼ cups plain flour (chilled if possible)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes*
• 3 tablespoons ice water (sometimes I need more, depending on the
weather)
Filling:
• 4 to 4½ cups prepared apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 8 to 10
wedges each
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon (could also use apple pie spice)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 large egg
Instructions
Crust:
1. Crust: In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Toss the butter cubes
with the flour and cut it with a pastry cutter until the butter is the size of
small peas.
2, Sprinkle the ice water over the pastry and, using a spatula, keep folding
the mixture (sparingly add more water if needed). Soon the mixture,
when pressed together will form a rough ball. Form the dough into a 6-
inch disc; wrap in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes.
3. Remove from chilling; place on parchment sheet and roll into a 13-inch
circle. The edges of the crust will be uneven, not perfect. If not using
right away, put back into the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Filling:
1. In a large bowl, place the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon; mix. Add
the prepared apple slices and fold to coat all the pieces.
2. Place the prepared crust, still on the parchment, onto a baking sheet.
Place the apples into the middle of the crust mixture and spoon or
arrange to within 3 inches of the edges. At this point you can arrange
the apples into a pattern. Fold up the edges of the crust, making a pleat
every 3 to 4 inches.
3. Mix the egg and water; brush oner the crust; sprinkle with sugar, optional.
4. Place the pie on a middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 10
minutes; lower heat and continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the
filling is bubbly. If the crust starts getting too brown, place a piece of foil
loosely over the top.
Using the parchment, slide the pie onto a wire rack for cooling.
• Tart apples, such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady or Macintosh apples
work best for this recipe.
• Don't substitute shortening for the butter in the crust.
• If you like our Rustic Apple Pie, try our Blackberry version too.
• For a savory twist, sprinkle a little cheddar cheese on the warm pie.
