Apple Pie

I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year. I had never made a fruit pie before so I was a little nervous. I didn't want to take a chance on the crust so I just used a store bought roll-out crust. It turned out delicious! I baked two of them. One I did in a fancy fluted pie dish. The other one was in a regular glass dish. The glass dish was actually easier to use for a novice pie baker because I could see when the crust was browned on the bottom. I added an apple cut-out as a little decoration on top :-)

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 3 pounds Granny Smith apples
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For the Dough:

• 1 Tbsp. sugar, for sprinkling
• 1 large egg

Directions

Prepare the filling: Peel, halve and core the apples. Cut each half into 6 wedges and toss with the sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the firmer apples begin to soften but still hold their shape, 8 to 9 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour, cinnamon, clovesand nutmeg and toss until the juices begin to thicken, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool completely. (The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Ease one layer of dough into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate. Add the filling, mounding it slightly, and dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Chill the pie while you roll the remaining dough into a 12-inch round.

Lay the dough over the filling and press the 2 crusts together around the edges. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp with your fingers. Beat the remaining egg in a bowl and brush over the top crust; sprinkle with sugar. Pierce the top with a knife a few times to let steam escape. Chill 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the pie on a baking sheet; bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly, 55 to 60 minutes. (Cover the edges with foil if they brown too quickly.) Transfer to a rack and cool until set, 2 hours.