Apple Pie

Fun fact: I made my first apple pie back in January of 2015 because I'd overheard Jeremy tell someone that he looooved pie, especially apple pie. So I made one and took a photo and posted it on Instagram because I wanted him to like me. That time I'd used a store bought crust and I diced the apples and I have no idea what spices I used or what ratio. But, obviously it worked because by the end of that month we'd gone on our first date and now we're on our third year of marriage. Since being married, I've perfected my apple pie. Well, I've made it to be what we like best at least. So, let's make pie.

Begin with apples. You want eight apples and preferably eight different varieties, or at least as many as you can get. We want complex flavors and textures. It's the key to a really good pie. You'll also want a large bowl.

Wash your apples and peel them.

Slice your apples, try to be as consistent as possible in your sizing.

Gather your apples back into your bowl. Now to spice them up.

1/2 cup brown sugar.

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, just to round it all out. in reality, it's just a blend of all the spices we've already added.

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Mix it all up thoroughly. My bowl has a lid, so I just put it on a shake it up.

Let it sit for about 15 minutes or so while you prepare your pie crust.

Once your pie crust is made and is chilling, add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well, this will thicken up all the juices. Let it sit while you roll out your crust. (at this point you could choose to refrigerate overnight both the filling and the crust if you want to plan ahead)

Roll out your bottom crust to fit your pie dish. I usually make sure there's some flour dusted on the bottom crust to keep it from getting soggy.

Pour in your filling.

Dollop about a tablespoon of butter over the apples.

Add on your top crust. I was trying to be cute and do a flag type of thing. You can be the judge of if it's actually cute or not. I won't cry if you hate it.

Roll up all of your edges and pinch/crimp them to seal.

Chill your whole pie for at least 30 minutes while your oven preheats to 350.

Whisk one egg yolk with 1 T water. Brush it over the whole pie, this will help get good color.

Mix 1 Tablespoon of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to sprinkle over the top.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until your crust is golden brown.

Enjoy.