Tom Borrill's Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

My father-in-law makes the BEST apple pie, and that's not just my opinion.  He's placed either first or second in every fair he's entered them in, even winning "Best of Show" one year.

Years ago, I'd asked him for his pie crust recipe, and it's been in my book of family recipes for more than a decade.  Only recently did he slow down on making his apple pie, so I decided it was time to ask him to come over to show me how to make it.

Here's his recipe with process photos below the instructions (because I loathe trying to search for recipes in lengthy blog posts!)  

At the very end are also some variations you can try.

The Recipes

It's All In the Crust:

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) Margarine, chilled
• 1 stick 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (10 tablespoons)
• 2/3 Cup Ice Water

Put the butter in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes before making the crust.  Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.  

Dice the margarine and place into a food processor.  Blend with the dry ingredients until well blended.  

Transfer the mixture to a bowl (cold stainless steel is ideal).  Dice the chilled butter into small cubes, handling as little as possible.  (Keeping the butter cold will ensure a flaky crust.)  Drop into the flour mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter until the cold butter pieces are about the size of peas.

Add water in 2 tablespoon increments, blending into the butter and flour using the back of a wooden spoon, and pressing the mixture against the sides of the bowl.  Continue adding water in small amounts just until the mixture begins to hold together. 

When it feels like it will hold a ball, turn out onto a floured surface and form it into a rectangle.  

If you are making two bottom-crust pies, cut the dough in half.  In this case, we are making one double-crust pie, so cut so one half is slightly larger than the other (the top half of the pie will need more crust than the bottom).

Place each on plastic wrap and form into a thick round "pancake", making sure to keep track which is the bottom and which is the slightly larger top crust.  Fully wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

The Apple Pie:

• 6-7 Granny Smith Apples
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon (or more depending on preference)
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg (or more depending on preference)
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Also:

• 1-2 Eggs Whisked with 2-3 Tablespoons Water
• 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Fill a large bowl about half way with water and the lemon juice.  This will be used to keep the cut apples from turning brown, so use a bowl large enough to fully cover the sliced apples with water/lemon mixture.  Peel and core the apples, then slice each into about 12 slices (quarter, then cut the quarters into thirds).  Drop into the lemon water as you go making sure the slices are well coated with the water.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugars, corn starch, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside.

When the crust is chilled, take the smaller half and roll it large enough to fully cover a 8-9" pie pan.  Place the bottom crust into the pie pan.

Fully drain the water from the apples, then return them to the bowl and toss them with 1/3 of the sugar mixture, reserving the rest of the sugar mixture.  Begin placing the apples in the pie, trying not to leave large gaps or spaces.  As you do this, sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture among the layers of apples as you go.  Don't be afraid to mound the apples high!  They will shrink and settle as they cook.  

Reserve any extra apple slices for another use (I like to chop them up and cook them into oatmeal).  Also reserve any "sugar juice" left in the bottom of the bowl of apples and set aside.  It may be needed if the apples in the pie appear dry while baking.

Dice the 2 tablespoons of butter and dot around the top of the apples.

With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash around the edge of the pie.  This will help seal the top crust to the bottom and prevent the juice from leaking.

Take out the larger half of the pie crust and roll it out on a floured surface.  Roll it large enough to fully drape over the apples with about 1" of extra overhang.  Drape the crust loosely so it sets onto the apples (i.e. not tightly stretched over).

Leaving 1" for the edge, cut any excess dough, then press the top edge to the bottom, folding the top edge over the bottom and tucking into the rim of the pie pan around the edge as you go.  You want a good seal on the two layers.

Cut a 3" slit in the top of the crust and open a bit to expose the apples inside. This does 3 things:

• Releases steam while the pie is baking.
• Exposes the center of the pie so you can test the doneness of the apples as they're cooking.
• Gives you a space where you can add a little sugar "juice" in case the apples in the pie appear dry while cooking.

Brush the top of the pie with the remaining egg wash.  You can also cut out a shape of an apple or other decoration with the remaining pie crust and place on top. (Just don't cover the slit!)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place the pie on a baking sheet large enough to catch any juice that may spill over.  (As much as you try to seal the edge well, some always seems to leak out!)

Bake the pie at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.  At this point, you will want to start testing the apples.  Take the pie out and, through the slit, try piercing the apples with a sharp knife.  There should be some resistance, but they shouldn't feel too hard or raw.  

If the apples don't feel done, return to the oven and test again in 5-minute increments.  Tom's warning: "They go from undercooked to applesauce real fast!" so keep testing every 5 minutes.  When testing, if the apples look dry, use a turkey baster or cup with a lip (such as a creamer) to drizzle some of the sugar juice into the pie through the slit.

It should take about an hour total baking to bake the pie, give or take depending on your apples.

Storing:

The best storage is to place the pie in a cake dome and leave on your counter.  Refrigerating will toughen the crust.  Covering the pie tightly with foil or plastic wrap can remove the crispness.  If you don't have a pie or cake dome, you can invert a large bowl over the pie.  It will last on your counter 3 days (though we've gone as long as 5 without issues).  You can probably get a couple more days out of it if you refrigerate the cut pie after two days on the counter.

The Process In Pictures:

Mixing the dry ingredients for the pie crust

Dicing the chilled margarine for the food processor

Margarine and flour mixture fully blended and ready for the bowl

Cutting in the butter with a pastry cutter

Adding the ice water a little at a time while mixing with a wooden spoon, pressing against the sides to blend

The pie dough, ready to be turned onto the counter

A little extra working of the dough to assure it'll stay together, while forming into a rectangle.  Don't work too much, or you'll end up with a tough crust.

Forming the two sections into rounds before wrapping in plastic and placing in the fridge

Whisking the sugars, corn starch and spices

Drizzling 1/3 of the sugar mixture on the drained apples before mixing

Laying the bottom crust in, making sure there's at least 1" overlap and there are no large air gaps between the crust and the pan

Placing the apples in the pie, though we weren't done yet!  This was probably about 2/3 of the way through the piling

Laying the top crust over

Trimming all but about 1" of the overlap on the edge.  Notice how high the apples are piled, and how the top crust is laid down onto the apples, not stretched over it

Pressing the two edges together then tucking them under to get a tight seal

A slit in the top, then brushing the pie top with egg wash

The final masterpiece!

Variations:

I think this recipe alters well by reducing the amount of apples by 1 - 2 cups and replacing them with the same amount of fresh cranberries, blueberries or rhubarb.  And of course, the crust is fantastic either as a single-crust pie or double-crust, no matter what you fill it with!