There is only one member in our little family of three who enjoys apples.
No one loves the sprawling apple tree in the backyard more than our Tofu boy. Each morning he makes a mad dash to its trunk to bark furiously at any squirrels who have the audacity to encroach on his backyard. He scavenges fallen apples day in and day out – half rotten, dried and wrinkly, bird-pecked, squirrel-gnawed, he would eat them all if only his parents would let him.
His parents begrudgingly pick the apples every fall. This year, he pranced around the tree while they picked, barking at the shaking branches and rustling leaves. Tofu’s dad studiously ignored the mountains of apples heaped high on the kitchen island. Tofu’s mom made as many apple baked goods as possible while Tofu stood vigilant beside her, waiting patiently for the occasional apple scrap to come his way. Aside from Tofu, no one else in this household will eat apples in their natural form.
Thank goodness for Tofu. And for apple pie. But mostly for Tofu, our happy-go-lucky, fruit-loving, round-eyed, belly-rub-loving, fluffy-tailed cutie pie. May he enjoy many, many autumns of apple crunching to come.
Apple Pie
Makes one 9″ pie
Much thanks to Smitten Kitchen for helping me perfect my filling.
Pie Crust
You’ll need to double the ingredients below for a traditional covered pie, triple if you’d like to make a wide lattice + decorations like you see in the photos above.
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small chunks. If using salted butter here, omit the 1/2 tsp salt.
6 tbsp ice water
Apple Filling
3.5 to 4 pounds of baking apples
I wasn’t strict with the amount of apples I used – you basically want enough apples so that before baking, the pile of apple slices rises 2-3 inches above the edges of your pie plate.
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 tbsp tapioca starch
1 egg, lightly beaten
granulated sugar for sprinkling (optional)
While your pie dough rounds are chilling, preheat the oven to 400˚F and prep the apple filling.
- In a very large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples, adding the slices to the mixing bowl and tossing with the sugar mixture as you go. Set aside while you prepare the pie crust.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out one of the pie dough rounds to 1/8″ thickness. Transfer to a 9″ standard pie plate and trim the excess dough from the edges.
- Add the tapioca starch to the bowl of apple filling and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the apples and all of the juice that has collected in the bottom of the bowl to the pie plate. You may need to use your hands to really pack down and mound all the apples into your pie plate.
- Roll out your remaining pie dough round(s) and decorate the pie as desired. If you are simply covering the pie with one sheet of dough, don’t forget to cut slits for steam to escape.
- Trim any excess overhang from your top crust/lattice and seal the edges with a fork or by crimping with your fingers.
- Brush the top of the pie with the lightly beaten egg and if desired, sprinkle all over with granulated sugar.
- Place the pie on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or foil and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 60-75 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender.
- Allow the pie to cool for at least one hour at room temperature before serving. For perfectly set filling, allow the pie to chill for a few hours in the fridge. My tester pies never lasted that long, but freshly baked pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is hard to beat, no matter how ugly the slice.
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