My wife, a consummate baker, made this pie today, in a 12" cast iron skillet. Without a doubt, it was and is the best apple pie I've had in many, many years, including several that she has baked in recent years to rave reviews. The crust, perhaps due to the even heating of the cast iron, was crisp and cooked through (especially the bottom), yet still light, buttery and flaky. And the combination of apples was perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, snappy and creamy. The only deviation was her substituting triple sec for the Calvados, of which we had none on hand. Give this one a try--you're gonna love it.
2
This is a wonderful recipe. I was told many years ago that an all-butter piecrust recipe was too tender, etc. The ratio of fat to flour in this recipe is perfect; I was amazed at how the crust came together in the food processor, so easily and quickly.
I followed the instructions about using different kinds of apples, and that was an excellent idea too. And I did use lemon juice, forgot the apple cider, and the outcome is terrific. I do admit to using a crumb topping, because I have an aversion to double crusts, due to health reasons. I will keep this recipe at the front of my recipe collection, and many thanks to Julia Moskin for her work in making an apple pie within reach!
1
Ugh— I can’t stand lemon in apple pie. If you want a tart flavor then use tart apples, why mess it up with lemon? Every store an diner bought apple pie always uses lemon and I’m so sick of it, I would never bother using it at home. Ruins a perfectly good pie! A perfectly good pie that easily lasts for days, I may add.
1
I keep a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven and I use pyrex glass pie plates. The first 25 minutes I bake the pie directly on the pizza stone at 425 degrees. Then I move it to the middle rack, lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook another 30-40 minutes. Some times I need to put a tinfoil hat on the pie so the top crust doesn't over brown. I love pie.
1
I must say that I have never made an apple pie that lasted more than a day--
Any apple pie that lasts for days can't be very good. A good apple pie lasts about 10 minutes in my house. But I will give it a try and see if it isn't consumed in even less time. That's the test of a homemade pie.
1
That apple pie looks soooooooo good!!!! I can't wait to try this recipe!!!!
2
Try a slab pie. You can use a regular dough, but I have a daughter w/fat issues, and I use an old fashioned milk/oil based dough that I simply pat into a 9x12 pan. Mac apples work fine with a thicker dough--I don't get the applesauce effect with this, perhaps also because I manage to make a lattice top the NY Times food stylists would scorn, but which still tastes fine. Add a brown sugar/butter syrup that I pour over the top, and you get a pie everyone raves about. Even the pie haters, and truthfully, I myself have never been much for pie!
Abandoned apple trees in the woods still make apples. They're delicious in pies.
2
the best apples I ever ate were plucked from the top of a broken, twisted and forgotten apple tree in an abandoned field in Michigan. I could reach the higher branches from horseback, but sometimes I had to stand on top of the saddle.
long ago and far away, I've never forgotten those apples.
3
Winesap's and Mutsu's are fantastic for pie if you can find them. But if all you have is a big chain grocery near you, try a combination of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith. The Golden's hold together giving you a firm bite, and the Granny's break down, so together they create the ideal texture. And the Granny's give the somewhat bland Golden's flavor-enhancing tartness.
5
My favorite apple is Winesap. Hard to find. Bromleys or cox orange pippin are also great but I don't think they're available in the US.
3
You can get cox orange pippin apples at Wightman's Fruit Farm in Kerhonkson New York! Owners are apple experts, and have so many options, and will tell you all about them. Not a place with all the extras of corn mazes, etc. Just apples! But they are truly incredible here! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g47994-d1569909-Reviews-Wi...
2
I used to live in Vermont and during my time there, had access to hundreds of apple varieties, each with their own unique flavor and taste. Now I live in near northern Colorado and the apple selection here (stores as well as farmer's markets) is incredibly non-diverse. All I see here are the mainstream apples that you can find anywhere in the US. It boggles my mind to no end as to why that is. Even in Denver, I can't find anything else. Is it possible that the real gourmet apple farming only happens on the east coast, whereas the west coast is primarily interested in only highly commercial varieties? My friends in Vermont and Quebec mysteriously disappear during this time because they don't want to hear me pestering them for shipping a crate or two every season.
2
Honeycrisps? Pink Ladys? Ginger Golds? Cameos? Granny Smiths? Those "apples" are all supermarket abominations. Any veteran apple pie maker and aficionado knows that Northern Spies are the only, singular apple for apple pies.
5
I adore Northern Spy apples! They ripen and are sold here in Upstate late October-Early November. On my way this week to pick up our bushel! Happy pie baking everyone!
3
I guess those of us in other parts of the country will serve abominable pies to our family. I don’t think they will think so.
1
That's an unfortunate headline. I consider it a failure if an apple lasts more than 15 minutes
3
I love Northern Spy, Winesap, and Bramley. Add some Cortland and you've got a great combination for pie. But I will now look for Pippin. I have added Quince in the past, but the wild quince is beyond compare.
3
Cortland is a great apple, It is a great shame that over 90% of the people in the country don't have everyday access to great traditional apples.
9
I have been in love with the Cortlands since the day I first dug my teeth into them. Now I start dreaming about getting someone to ship me some from VT/QC as soon as October rolls around.
1
For a really tasty pie, try a combination of apples and quince. I cooked the quince in a crockpot until soft but still holding their shape. I mixed the two with tapioca, a squeeze of lemon juice and cinnamon. When I asked my husband how he liked it, he said "Don't talk, I'm enjoying this pie too much."
4
That's genius! It sounds wonderful.
3
In my peach-loving opinion, fruit pies are best eaten the day they are made. I'll just make two if I have a lot of people to feed, but I would never make a pie bigger than necessary just so I'd have leftovers. The crust is always soggy on day two.
6
Yes especially if you are into flaky crust vs the "short bread"crust.
3
The problem with a Granny Smith Apple pie is that it will become almost for certain a soggy pie. Granny Smith
3
Eating apples generally are not great for cooking. My Grandmother's family had a moderate sized orchard. They had 3 Lodi cooking apple trees. They had a good texture that stood up to cooking. She also made apple butter which she canned.
5
I'm going to bake this pie for my boyfriend tomorrow, and bring it to him for dessert. I'm guessing it'll be gone by Monday. (he lives alone, so no one else will be eating it.)
3
He's putty in your hands. I once cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for a confirmed bachelor--complete with homemade bread, and apple pie. We were married 50 years.
4
Oh! Here's what I did -- prepped the crust; wrapped it. Made the mixture for the apples, and tupperware'd it. Brought the whole shebang to his house, rolled out crust, and baked at his house.
I am more than mortified to admit (it came out of the oven at 6:15 on Sunday evening) that by Monday morning at 10am, slightly less than half the pie remained. You're right. Putty.... I had but a single conservative slice. Thank you!
1
Elle ~
revisiting Julia today & comments:
I’m so happy to see your update ~
Happy Pie Making & Sharing!
1
Old Pennsylvania Dutch trick: If you are going with all the calories in pie anyway, go all the way with your apple pie and make the crust with bacon grease instead of butter or lard! That means you have to have more than one day of over-indulging, though, since you will have to save the grease from the bacon, using it after it gets cold! Believe me, it is worth it...use it only with apple pies, however.
2
That is the secret to all the farmer's market pies in the Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish country. Heart stopping good.
2
Ya ain't eatin' a real pie till ya make it with bear fat!
1
If you are going to try this recipe, I would highly recommend slicing the apples much thinner than shown in the video or you crust will be burnt black by the time your apples cook through. Honestly, this cooking video is terribly misleading to the novice cook. People would view that video and then wonder why the pie didn’t turn out.
Also, if you don’t want fruit juice escaping all over your oven, you need to crimp the edges of the pie. It’s not just decorative, it’s to seal in the juices. It’s really no optional.
Finally, in my experience, 45 min is not enough time to cook a pie of that size (especially if you cut the apples the size the video shows them). Don’t take the pie out of the over until you see the fruit juices bubbling and steam escaping from the vents on top. If your crust is growing too much around the edges and your fruit is not cooked, cover the edge with a strip of foil or a pie shield.
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the people who write the recipes/videos have ever actually made a pie.
21
Good point on the slicing! Funny thing, though...I just watched the video and the slice of pie shown at the end is filled with very small pieces of apple! The filling might even be a combination of sliced and diced apple -- it's hard to tell. But it is definitely not the huge slices shown earlier in the clip, so that was just a bit of staging, I think. It is very misleading.
6
Using your "most-loved" cast iron skillet will ruin your most-loved cast iron skillet. The acidity of the filling combined with cutting the pie and scraping out slices that will surely stick will undo the pan's hard-earned seasoning.
4
Ruin is a bit extreme. Theoretically an acidic filling could cause the pan to rust if the seasoning is breeched by scraping with a service utensil.
However, if you scrape the pan bottom bad enough to expose metal, you've already spoiled the seasoning without the so called acidic filling coming into play. Likely your seasoning was only so-so to start with.
If you do it right, things aren't so hard to cut that the iron is left vulnerable and naked, and no scraping is required to serve a slice.
If you mess up and scratch through the seasoning, you just fix up the seasoning of your pan, then fix up your pie making techniques.
2
It's almost impossible to ruin a cast iron skillet and baking a pie in it won't ruin the skillet. I've used mine to cook almost everything. I wash it with soap, oil it, wipe it out to remove excess oil then store it.
3
The discussion we are not having is how pie changes in texture and taste from day one to day two to day three,
Related is how cakes taste better on day two.
4
Cakes do taste better on day two! So do chocolate chip cookies, in my opinion. Is it the firming up of the fats?
3
How do you even know this? You have cookies that last in your house more than a day?
1
I come from a large family so when I make apple pie I always use a 10 1/2 inch pie tin not the standard 9 inch pie tin. It guarantees that there is always enough for seconds.
2
I buy wonderful fresh peaches from a local orchard and freeze lots of them to use over the winter. I can almost always buy wonderful apples year-around at the grocery, so no problems there.
However, I have on occasion found myself without access to fresh fruit and suddenly needing a pie for something. So here is what I do in those situations. I keep several tins of the most expensive premium pie filling (oh horrors!) in the cupboard for emergencies, along with 29 oz cans of regular sliced fruit packed in juice or syrup. For a peach pie, I mix the contents of (1) 21 oz can of premium peach pie filling with the (drained) sliced peaches from (1) 29 oz can of regular sliced peaches. This makes a very nice filling because you need peaches but you don't need the massive quantity of goo that canned pie filling is packed in. This is also why this tip is advising you to not buy the cheaper pie filling--it's all goo.
4
What do you do with your frozen peaches if you're making peach pie with canned peaches? I freeze peaches in July and August, and use them to make peach/tart cherry (or peach/raspberry) jam in cooler weather.
1
That's a clever hack. I find that frozen berries do pretty well in pie filling, though, so that's my off-season choice. Even better as a cobbler, though!
2
My grandmother stopped canning peaches the day she got her deep freeze. I loved when she defrosted them and got a taste of the frozen syrup on the top. I don't know if I would waste my time using store bought canned peaches (no matter how "Gourmet" they may be).
1
While I love apple pies, I don't need to be encouraged to become more obese.
2
I read this article and recipe with some interest. Have to say, aftewr reading it and thinking it though I will stick with the NYT Tart Tatin recipe from 20-some years ago. (ed. insert link!)
The idea of a great, giant apple pie is intriguing, but it all seems a great deal of work.
others may disagree.
1
If you consider making a pie to be too much work, then no pie for you. We (who work) will eat it all.
2
Somebody made an 'apple-pie' out of my bed, an old prank if ever there was one, and now having wolfed down dinner, I find this delicious-sounding recipe from Ms. Moskin which is being sent to Paris. Tragedy struck earlier when the local supermarket no longer had little green apples.
'An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away' caused a Korean acquaintance to laugh and we tried to figure out the name of her favorite one which sounds like 'The American Beauty', the one that the cruel stepmother gives to Snow-White.
In Ireland it was crab apples off the tree with parental shouts in the background. At school in France there was no such apple as a Granny Smith. I first made her acquaintance in Dublin where she was considered ritzy and offered in a little cupcake holder.
This affinity for Granny Smith continues and I am sending this 'receipt' to Paris who tells me the best apple pie is American. Recently, Mr. Badger asked me why this appreciative reader only eats green apples, but then somewhere on the planet, someone probably only eats green eggs, and some matters in life should be left a mystery.
3
Salted slices of a very tart Pippin will convince anyone that green is good.
1
Bramley apples are never "sweet" they are big and green and the best apple for pies - my Mum said.
1
Good rule of thumb: if a pie lasts for days, there's something wrong with it.
24
If the pie is good enough, it won't last two days in my house anyway.
5
An article & video with funky music, her great kitchen & work bench, making Apple Pie from Julia today?!!
oh my goodness, thank you for this birthday gift (october 20, 1955, same as mickey mantle).
I just saw this, 10pm MT as the gift to myself was limited news coverage for just today. and boy, what a gloomy slog of stories until I saw, “An Apple Pie That Lasts for Days.”
birthday supper was simple mac&cheese supper & an apple hand pie. yep, a tiny apple hand pie.
my fun was getting ready to make my dogs their dog biscuits in the morning.
I’m adding this project. I have an iron skillet, ceramic pie plate donated somewhere before the move out west.
I love pie & am definitely making this one tomorrow.
Thank you nytimes & Julia Moskin.
2
I love crust so I would prefer Ms. Moskin to make two regular sized pies instead of a gigantic deep-dish, giving me a higher crust-to-filling ratio. I have spent many hours of many years improving my pie crust, learning things all along the way. I make a pretty darn good crust if I say so, although my mother's crust was unbeatable. Apple is good, but peach is my favorite of the fruit pies, plus it is beautiful to the eye. Speaking of beautiful, Ms. Moskin's pie in the video is gorgeous.
4
My Grandmother was an ace pie maker. She was a rancher's wife and raised 6 kids an fed 2 hired hands for decades. She would make 5 pies every other day using a wood burning stove. When I was a teenager I spent a summer with her and my Uncle. She was in her 70's but still managed to make 2 pies every other day. I enjoyed watching her make them (I helped rolling out the crust), and putting them in her prized pie safe her grandfather built. Yes, they were real, not just a quaint piece of faux antiques. Pies a great American Artform.
18
Passion for peaches - any difference in taste that you think you detect between conventionally grown apples and organic apples is entirely a product of your imagination. And no, there are not “insanely high levels” of pesticides on apples. There are insanely high levels of natural toxic chemicals on organic apples, but I won’t get into that.
Excuse me? Do you have some deep insight into how I taste things?
There is, in fact, a huge difference between conventional and organic apples -- taste and texture. Conventionally grown apples are among the highest residual-pesticide crops in your local,supermarket. See this:
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php#.We5Cd9FlCfA
There is also a huge difference between polite, mature, thoughtful discussion and the rude, dismissive shooting down of others just to make yourself feel big.
1
I remember that when Granny Smith apples first reached a wider market, they were incredible. Everyone soon wanted to eat them. Then it didn't seem to take long before the quality of the typical Granny Smith apple went the way of most "supermarket produce". Not very special at all. It has been years since I found a Granny Smith apple that reminded me of the incredible sensation of that first generation.
20
I know what you mean, they have become mealy, a non-uniform texture.
3
Exactly. I wish some expert would write on what happens in these types of situations. Is it just continuing hybridization? Even Honeycrisps are not what they once were. Most all supermarket apples seem to aspire to cardboard.
6
Another once good apple that has been damaged by the GMO groupies. I am glad I still have a few old apple trees in my garden that give us good fruit.
3
I don't make pies as super sweet dessert but more like a semisweet meal. I use butter in the crust, or real lard. I use salted butter or add some salt to the crust. No sugar. Ever. The sweet should be inside and it should not be overpowering (everything in the stores is sickeningly sweet). I prefer lemon juice to balance the sweet and tart - that way I can use whatever apples are in stock and add lemon as needed. Of course when rolling the crust I use ice water and keep everything cold. The crust is thicker like recommended in the article. Hint - you can make the pie in a disposable tin if you cook the bottom a bit before adding the filling and the top and then putting it back in the oven. My pies disappear very very fast at home or when gifted, and they make me happy.
12
Real Lard is the what my mom and both Grandmothers used. Non-sweet crust is my favorite. My mom made great peach or apple pies with a crumbly, spiced sugar topping that would bubble so much it was cooked in a paper grocery bag.
4
I use an unsweetened crust for my galettes. The contrast of a slightly salty crust with the sweet fruit (without the extra liquid you get in a two-crust pie) is superb.
4
Who says a pie made with a dozen Granny Smiths is inedible? I usually use all Granny Smiths in my apple pies, and they're delicious - flavorful, juicy, and tart enough that you don't have to add lemon juice or vinegar to balance out the brown sugar.
29
I use Granny Smith apples all the time and am locally famous for my pies (well, in my group of friends anyway!)
I also much prefer a thinner crust; to me the thicker crust is overwhelming and gets in the way of the taste of the filling.
It’s fun to read the pie memories of so many writers.
Years ago I read that Mrs. Nixon, mother of president Nixon, made 40 pies each morning to earn money for her family, which was very poor. I don’t know if this is true or not but I enjoy trying to imagine how one person could do that.
I substitute orange juice for some of the water when making a crust for fruit pies. It adds a delicate and nice flavor.
14
Right you are! Plus the citric acid helps to keep the crust tender.
4
Added sugar! Why? Decent apples are only adulterated by this addition.
11
what? It's pie. It has sugar. an apple that is fit to make a pie is tart, and should be. It needs sugar to sweeten it, but would taste bland if it lacked the tartness. Though it is a common (and therefore to some mundane) apple, Jonathon is the best. Granny Smith, because its mature color is green is part of the reason, has become a tasteless, starchy nothing, not fit for anything, as marketed. But, if you can get Granny Smith from a grower who lets his fruit mature properly before harvest, then it is a great pie apple.
6
Because sugar adds not only dimension and structure, but also brings out the flavor of the apples. Without it, a great apple is only ho hum. With it, a great apple is resplendent.
7
Bah. Pie has sugar.
5
My step-mom, 3rd generation Norwegian, made a deep dish apple pie from her grandmother's recipe in a cast iron pan/pot (4"-5" deep). We ate it warm when fresh, cold out of the fridge for snacks and, at the end, re-heated remnants in the oven to be eaten with ice cream.
That pie was my idea of what a heaven must be like. Oh, my...
31
Delighted to see an article about pie!
19
I'm a big fan of this pie and just put one in the freezer for Thanksgiving - unbaked and can't wait to bake it. This recipe makes a lot of dough (I like my pie crusts a little thinner), so I made a galette with a little of the leftover dough and some of the apples and it was divine. I highly recommend mixing up the apples as well.
Kate is the pie whisperer and for this the world should be grateful. We should all eat more pie.
20
My grandmother rolled out pieces of her leftover dough, baked them in her coal-stove oven and give them to me warm with a bit of jelly spread on top. I never had enough.
6
So did mine, though the oven was gas. Yum
1
Ditto that except she baked with cinnamon & sugar.
2
Upon reading the title, my first thought was "a pie that lasts for days must not be very tasty" - then I discovered the author meant "make a pie big enough to have leftovers after everyone has had a slice or two", which I heartily applaud. My mouth is literally watering right now. I volunteer as a quality control taste tester for any local bakers ;-)
25
Same here! I thought "Oh must not be a very good pie" since every apple pie I've ever made was gone before the day was over, as I'm sure most home-cooked pies are...
2
To me, apple pie is only a ritualistic food for Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. My wife makes it, and I showed her the demonstration in this article.
At the risk of sounding Unamerican, I prefer a cherry or peach pie with some whipped cream on top.
5
Sorry for you. Apple pie is great. So are cherry and peach (the latter as cobbler), but why complain about apple? I'll take almost any pie I can get, shoo-fly being an exception.
10
Agree any pie is great (I have never had Shoo-fly), it is probably the most appreciated cooked item. A classic Rhubarb pie is my favorite, purer than strawberry rhubarb pie which feels like a cop-out.
6
Pecan or Pumpkin pie is Thanksgiving. I have never had Apple pie for Thanksgiving. My mom would make pecan pies a day or so before T day and put them in the cool garage. They were not just pecans on a piece of tasteless gooo. The pecan favor infused the entire filling.
5