Deep-Dish Apple Pie

I survived the snow storm.  Luckily, the power never went out.  I spend the weekend watching TV, reading, and playing games.  It was pretty relaxing, though I have enjoyed going outside and seeing the sun the last couple of days.

Have you heard the phrase "American as apple pie?"  It's a strange phrase because neither apples nor apple pie is American.  Europeans were eating apple pie before they were aware of America.  

There is a Dutch painting from 1626 that has an image of an apple pie.  The oldest Dutch apple pie recipe dates from 1514.  The Dutch have two varieties of apple pies, a lattice topped pie or a crumb topped pie.  Some recipes include raisins or almond paste.

The oldest English apple pies recipes date back to the time of Chaucer.  A recipe from 1381 includes apples, spices, figs, raisins, pears, and saffron.  The recipe sounds pretty fancy and chic.  A swank restaurant could serve an apple with these ingredients.  

Apple pie was brought to America in the 17th and 18th century by the Dutch, English, and Swedish.  Apples were also brought to the Americas by Europeans.

This apple pie recipe came from America's Test Kitchen.  It recipe includes a pie crust recipe, but we used a store bought pie crust.  This was the last recipe I made at home over the Christmas holidays.  I made it with my dad.

The ingredients for the pie are pie crust for the top and bottom of the pie, 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 1/2 pounds tart apples, 2 1/2 pounds sweet apples, and 1 egg white.  We used granny smith apples and golden delicious.

We peeled and sliced all of the apples.  We added them into a large bowl with the brown sugar, a half a cup of the white sugar, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest.

We stirred all these ingredients together until the apples were evenly coated with the sugars and spices.  

We poured the apples into a dutch oven.  We covered the pot and cooked it for 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat.  We stirred often.  The apples become tender, but they still hold their shape.  We didn't want apple sauce.

After the apples were tender, we poured them onto a rimmed sheet pan.  We spread them out evenly and let them cool to room temperature.

We placed uncooked pie dough on the bottom of the pie dish.

We poured all of the apple filling into the pie pan.  We spread out the apples so they evenly filled up the pie pan.

We juiced the lemon and poured the juice over the apples.

We spread some of the beaten egg white over the bottom edge of the pie crust.

We placed the top crust over the pie and pressed the edges together.  We cut of the extra dough and crimped the edges together in a wavy pattern with our thumbs.  We used a pastry brush to coat the top of the pie with a thin layer of egg white.  We sprinkled the remaining tablespoon of sugar on the pie.

We placed the pie on a baking sheet.  We put the pie on the bottom rack of the oven which had been preheated to 425 degrees.  We baked the pie for 45 minutes.  

We let it cool before slicing.  This was a delectable and pleasurable pie.  Fruit pies are my favorite pies, and this one meet my high expectations.

 The apple flavor was pronounced.  The apples were tender but not mushy.  We should have cooked the apples a bit less on the stove because I would have preferred a little more texture.  Regardless, it was a scrumptious pie.  The touch of lemon balanced out the sweet apples.

The crust was crisp and golden.  The sugar on the crust crystalized.  We ate the pie with billowy, whipped cream.  Overall, it was mouthwatering and tempting.  We ate this pie with delight.