My mom’s apple pie is one of the best, making it hard to enjoy a pie made by anyone else. Between the flaky crust, crumb topping and just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon it all comes togehter perfectly. A few years ago my mom got a spiralizer attachment for her Kitchen Aid mixer which makes the most dreaded part of baking a pie a cinch. You can peel, core and slice enough apples for a large pie in about 10 minutes.

Prep time – 30 minutes / Cook time – 55 minutes

Pie Crust

  • 3/4 c. + 2 T. Crisco
  • 1/4 c. boiling water
  • 1 T. milk
  • 2 1/4 – 1/2 c. unbleached flour
  • 1 t. salt

Measure Crisco in a medium bowl. Add milk and boiling water. Whip with electric mixer. Add salt. Add flour and mix with a large fork until a soft pliable dough forms. Roll dough between waxed paper and transfer to a deep pie plate. Crimp edges and chill while preparing the filling and topping.

Filling

  • 6 – 8 large apples (Jonagold or Golden Delicious)
  • 1/2 c. Sugar
  • 2 T. tapioca
  • 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
  • 1/4 t. nutmeg

Topping

  • 1/2 c. butter, sliced
  • 3/4 c. flour
  • 1/2 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Drop into water and a few tablespoons of lemon juice. Once all apples are done, thoroughly drain and layer the slices in the crust. In a small bowl combine sugar, tapioca, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples and let sit 10 minutes in order for the tapioca to mix with the fruit juices.

With a pastry blender combine the butter, flour and sugar forming pea sized crumbs. Cover the apples with the topping being sure to distribute up to the edge of the crust. Place pie dish on a cookie sheet to catch any liquid that might bubble over. Bake pie for 50 minutes, checking to see if liquid is bubbling along the crust. May take longer to bake depending on the size of the pie.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Pie is best served at room temperature. And with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.