I’m saying this in the least braggy way possible- but I know I’m a good cook. Better than most. Above average. I have a pretty good understanding of flavors and, because I like to challenge myself, decent technique. I can make a very passable soufflé and whip up cream puffs like it’s no big deal. But perfect pie crust has eluded me from the beginning.
Before we start having an imaginary debate about butter vs. shortening vs. lard, and the inclusion of vinegar vs. vodka, let me clear something up: I already have the perfect recipe. I know this because my mom and sister have made countless- hundreds- of pies so flaky and buttery that they’d bring you to tears, all using this same recipe and technique. I’ve posted it here before because I know it’s the best. Except every time I’ve tried to make it at home it’s been…off.
Every holiday I make sure to keep right in the pie action, working alongside my mom as she quickly and casually throws together the most incredible pie crust in the entire world, hoping to catch some of her magic, learn some mysterious trick I’m not doing. But there is no magic, and no mysterious trick, and I go back to my kitchen and do the same thing and it isn’t delicious.
So with that background, you can imagine how I’d begun to feel that perfect pie crust was my white whale. Until now. You see, friends, this weekend I had a pie breakthrough. I decided to practice my pie making in advance of the holidays and set out with my usual low expectations. I swapped in my mom’s recipe for the one in the magazine I was using. I threw the ingredients together in the food processor. I didn’t worry about it, I just did it without thinking much. When I turned the dough out of the food processor, it actually felt right in my hands, like I knew it was supposed to feel.
After it chilled, I rolled the dough out and got on my way with the apple filling. Then the amazing crumb topping, piled way high like the corners of the Entemann’s coffee cake. When the pie finally came out of the oven, it looked good, but I was ready to love the filling and hate the crust. Except that I didn’t.
You guys, the pie was perfect. The crust was just as it should be. Flaky, and buttery and golden. It was, in fact, one of the best pies I’ve eaten in my life. It comes just in time for me to host my first Thanksgiving, in my little apartment with my miniature oven, serving pie made from my own hands. And I’m so proud.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, cold
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold and cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup ice water
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 lbs. Mountain Rose or Granny Smith apples- peeled, cored and cut into 1/3-inch-thick wedges
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- First, prepare the crust. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse for approximately 10 seconds, or until the mixture resembles course meal. Drizzle in the ice water while pulsing the food processor, for no more than 30 seconds, until the dough begins to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into a disc. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out into a 14" round. Ease it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and trim the overhang to 2 inches. Fold the overhanging dough under itself to form a 1/2-inch-high rim; crimp decoratively. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour with the oats, brown sugar and salt at low speed. With the machine at medium speed, gradually beat in the butter. Transfer to a bowl and press into clumps. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Spread the apple mixture in the crust and set the pie on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake the pie for about 25 minutes, until the crust is just starting to brown.
- Remove the pie from the oven and gently pack the crumb topping onto the apples. Bake for 30 minutes longer, until the topping is golden and the pie is just starting to bubble. Let cool completely on a rack before serving.
Notes
Adapted from Food & Wine November 2015
