Old-Fashioned Apple Pie (Lucinda Scala Quinn)

By zircon50

Ingredients

• FOR THE PIE
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 8 apples (4 tart, 4 sweet)
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk
• FOR THE BASIC PIE DOUGH (The dough can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup cold milk or water

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from marthastewart.com

Preparation

Step 1

FOR THE BASIC PIE DOUGH
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and cut in or pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. (To "cut in" means to mix cold fat such as butter with dry ingredients to form small pieces.) Pour in the milk. Combine just until the dough holds together in a ball.

Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and lift the sides toward the middle to press them together. Cut the dough in half. Form each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic.

Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. If the dough has been refrigerated in advance, remove 15 minutes before using.


FOR THE PIE:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Position the racks in the center of the oven and in the lower third.

Lightly grease the pie plate. Roll one disk of pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Lightly flour the bottom of the pie dough, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate, letting the excess dough hang over the edge.

Add the 1/4 cup sugar, the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to the apples and toss to coat. Pile the apples into the dough-lined pie plate. Dot with butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Cut a few slits in the crust top to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the egg mixture evenly over the whole crust, being careful not to block the slits. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Place a cookie sheet on the lower rack to catch any overflowing juices from the pie. Place the pie on the center rack and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and there is a sign of bubbling juices.

Cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 1 hour. Slice and serve.