Rare is the serious restaurant-goer who ventures into an unfamiliar city without a copy of the local Zagat Survey. Tim and Nina Zagat published their first guide back in 1979, and since then, their burgundy pocket-size compendiums of consumer opinion have led millions to the best dining rooms in the world. Over the years, the Zagats have had hundreds of stunning restaurant desserts, but for Nina, nothing is as well remembered as her grandmother's apple pie.
"She only believed in the basics: good apples, sugar, a squeeze of lemon," says Nina. "Even cinnamon was suspect. I used to bake the pies with her, and I loved to make sweet little things from the leftover pastry scraps. She baked the pies in a wood stove and they always came out perfectly."
In honor of such grandmotherly comforts, here is a beautiful and delicious pie to serve with vanilla ice cream or slightly sweetened whipped cream.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Crust
Filling
For crust:
Step 1
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; divide into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic; chill 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.)
For filling:
Step 2
Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add apples and toss to blend.
Step 3
Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edge under, forming high-standing rim; crimp. Add filling. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into twelve 1-inch-wide strips. Arrange 6 strips across pie. Form lattice by arranging 6 strips diagonally across first strips. Gently press ends into crust edges. Brush lattice with milk. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar. Bake pie 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Continue baking until juices bubble thickly and crust is deep golden, covering edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool on rack 1 hour. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand on rack.)
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Reviews (46)
Back to TopThis was delicious. I used my own crust recipe and made a 10-inch pie (using honeycrisp, pink lady, and gala apples). I was skeptical about using so much sugar, but it turned out great. Watch it carefully as it bakes--it was done 1 hour after lowering the temperature to 375. Enjoyed it at Thanksgiving!
vickicohn
11/28/2020
Best pie crust I've ever made. No matter what type of pie I'm making, I always use this crust recipe!!
spacebaker
Mebane, NC
11/5/2019
Just made this for the second time, and I will never use another recipe again (and I've gone through a lot of them over the years!) Leaving the cinnamon out of an apple pie seemed treasonous, but just nutmeg, sugar, apple and lemon is a magical thing. I did flip the proportions of brown sugar to white sugar (1/2 cup brown, 1/4 cup of white), because brown sugar tastes better than white sugar, in my opinion.
escarroll
Concord, MA
10/14/2016
这个recipie amazing first time I've ever made an apple pie and it turned out perfectly!!!
meow0622
Surrey, Canada
12/16/2015
我真的喜欢这道菜!地壳amazing, almost like shortbread. I didn't have vegetable shortening on hand, so I subbed lard. Turned out great none the less.
nicalden888
Chicago, IL
11/3/2013
Fantastic Recipe! My first time making a pie and I'm on my 4th time making this now. I add cinnamon but that's the only difference. It is delicious and not too difficult!
alexia25
Germany
2/27/2012
It was my first time making an apple pie and this recipe worked out so magnificently. I used peanut butter instead of shortening and put maybe 3-4 drops of lemon juice. I also used cinnamon instead of nutmeg. The pie was delicious and a great hit amongst friends and family!
purplegirl
7/2/2011
I used a different crust recipe since i did not have vegetable shortening. The filling was absolutely delicious! I also added cinnamon and followed the advice of other reviewers by cutting the lemon juice in half. There were no Golden Delicious apples in the market I went to so I used Gala. It tasted great, but not crunchy (the way I like mine). I would definitely make this recipe again.
jenc11
Mississauga, ON
3/17/2011
Here's how I made this fabulous...the crust is perfect, no need to alter anything. For the filling, I took the advice of other reviewers and cut the lemon juice and peel drastically. I used a combination of granny smith and golden delicious green apples. I also added spice, cinnamon and more nutmeg to the filling. Tasting along the way was imperative. It was a crowd pleaser!
babyboo
Barbados
1/2/2010
Hands down the best apple pie my family and I have made to date. I tend to use the crust recipe from the cook book Julia and Jacque because it is the best. This recipe embodies the ultimate in tart pie. If you love an apple pie with a tart flavor you will simply adore this.
emilyvaughan2
Maine and Pennsylvania
12/25/2009
does anybody have experience with freezing the unbaked dough? The dinnerparty I was supposed to bring dessert to was moved from tomorrow (sunday) to tuesday, and I prepared the dough last night (saturday)- so I would be over the 2-day limit. What do you suggest I do?
Anonymous
Maryland
11/7/2009
I just made this delicious pie (my first pie actually) and it turned out great. The only thing is that even though I lowered the lemon to half, it still turned out a little bit sour. So next time, just a little touch of lemon to give some flavour.
ironjawedangel
istanbul
2/16/2009
The crust on this pie is AMAZING!! But the pie was just OK. I added less lemon and added some cinnamon and it was pretty good. I will definately use this crust recipe for all pies in the future.
novemberbabie
Santa Rosa, CA
12/30/2008
This pie was delicious!! Just like grannies=) I live in Austria and couldn't find vegetable shortening, so I just left out the salt and used peanut butter. Then I added a little more butter and flour (I just followed my intuition there) until I felt like the dough had the right consistency. Make sure to try it!! If your peanut butter is too salty, you may need a bit more sugar. Or do what I did (I forgot to try the dough=) ) and melt some apricot marmelade, mix in a bit more sugar and glaze the crust before filling in the apples. It was soooo good!!=)
teaforfree
10/16/2008
My pie came out FANTABULOUS! I just added some Cinn.
Nycgirl1440
Brooklyn, NY
10/6/2008
