A little lemon zest and mace are my secrets for making this the best apple pie recipe you'll ever taste.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water
- 6 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. mace
- 1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
Preparation:
- Combine flours, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse several times.
- Add cold butter pieces (butter must be cold!) and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add a few tablespoons of ice water. Pulse. Repeat until the mixture just comes together as a dough. Do not overprocess!
- Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface. Knead several times. Divide in half. Form a 4- to 6-inch disk with each half. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least one hour, up to several days.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Roll dough out to a 12-inch circle. Drape dough over your rolling pin to transfer to a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Press the dough into the pie plate, trimming the edges.
- Place apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar, flour and lemon juice over the apples. Toss. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and mace. Toss well.
- Pour apples into prepared pie crust.
- Roll out the other crust to a 12-inch circle. Place over the apples, crimping the edges to seal. Cut 6-8 vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Brush the top crust with the egg wash.
- Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until the pie is golden brown. Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
