New England Apple Pie
Submitted by taurus_baby84
New England apple pie with a butter pastry, crumb topping, and heritage apples like Northern Spy or Rhode Island Greening. Cinnamon and lemon zest brighten the filling, and a two-stage bake browns the crust without burning.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
45 minCOOK
45 minREADY
90 minThis is the apple pie that turns up at every New England farmstand bake sale: a flaky all-butter crust, a generous crumb topping, and a filling that leans on heritage apple varieties for its real character. Northern Spy and Rhode Island Greening are the gold standards if you can find them at a fall orchard, but Granny Smith, Pippin, and Golden Delicious all stand in honorably.
The crumb topping does the work that a top crust would in a standard double-crust pie. Brown sugar, flour, and melted butter rest five minutes to firm up before being broken into rough quarter-inch crumbs. The result bakes into golden clusters that crunch against the soft fruit beneath.
A two-stage bake is what saves the crust from burning. Starting hot on the bottom rack sets the bottom crust crisp; finishing lower on the middle rack lets the crumb top brown without scorching the edges.
Lemon zest in the filling is the often-skipped detail that makes the pie taste alive. The acid keeps the apples bright instead of letting cinnamon flatten them out.
Pro Tips
- Mix the crust in a food processor only until the butter looks like coarse cornmeal with no visible large pieces. Visible butter chunks are what give flake.
- Roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap. No flouring the counter, and the dough peels off cleanly into the pie pan without tearing.
- Let the crumb topping rest five minutes after stirring. The butter firms up just enough to break into the right size clusters with your fingertips.
- Cool the pie at least an hour before slicing. The juices need time to thicken; cut too early and you get a runny mess.
Variations
Ingredients
firm tart, granny smith, pippin, golden delicious, rhode island, northern spy, as available
Directions
FLAKY PIE DOUGH: Combine flour, salt and baking powder in work bowl of food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times to mix.
Cut butter into 8 pieces and add to bowl.
Pulse rapidly about 15 times, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal and no large pieces of butter remain visable.
Add 2 tablespoons water and pulse 4 or 5 times to mix checking to see if most, but not all, of dough forms a ball.
If dough remains dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon water, sprinkling it on dough and pulsing again 4 or 5 times.
Remove dough from processor and quickly form into ball with floured hands.
Place dough on piece of lightly floured plastic wrap.
Lightly flour top of dough and cover top with plastic wrap.
Press with palm of hand to form dough into a 6-inch diameter disk.
Refrigerate dough while preparing topping.
CRUMB TOPPING: Combine brown sugar and flour in mixing bowl.
Add butter and stir in evenly. Set mixture aside 5 minutes.
Then, using fingertips, break mixture into ¼ to ½-inch crumbs.
Set aside.
DOUGH PREPARATION: Remove dough from refrigerator and place on flat work surface.
Roll dough, still between sheets of plastic, to 12-inch disk.
Peel off top plastic and ease dough into 9-inch pie pan.
Gently press dough into pan and peel off top plastic.
Trim excess dough to within ½-inch of pan edge, turning excess dough under around edges; flute edges.
Chill pie shell while preparing Filling.
FILLING: Peel, halve and core apples; cut into ½-inch pieces.
Place apples in bowl with sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon zest, tossing well to combine.
Place filling in dough-lined pan, mounding it slightly in center.
Dot filling with butter and cover with reserved Crumb Topping.
Bake pie on bottom rack 15 minutes at 400℉ (200℃).
Lower temperature to 350℉ (180℃) and move pie to middle rack.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes longer, until crust edges are deep golden brown and juices just begin to bubble up.
Cool pie on rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 servings.
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