Apple Pie with a Crumb Top
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
Pie crust
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup+ 1 tablespoon shortening (or butter, or ⅓ cup lard)
  • cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)
Apple filling
  • 8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Gala or McIntosh are recommended)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
Crumb topping
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 stick cold butter
Instructions
  1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.
  2. Start with the pie crust! In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
  3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. To do this, use 2 butter knives and cut through using an "x" motion or use a dough blender.
  4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tablespoon to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this can sometimes be up to 5 tablespoons.
  5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of a 9" pie plate.
  6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.
  7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge.
  8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling.
  9. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
  10. If you haven't already peel, core, and cut your apples into thin half-moon sized slices.
  11. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the cut apples into this mix and stir it all together. Snack on a few apples, it's worth it.
  12. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.
  13. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter (just like you did earlier with the shortening). You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.
  14. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. This is important for two reasons. 1. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. And 2, it will catch any juices that drip out of the pie and so your oven won't fill with burning sugar smoke.
  15. Put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
  16. Cover the pie with tin foil. This is to keep the exterior color golden brown while the interior continues to bake.
  17. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.
  18. Let cool then serve!
Recipe by Cooking is Messy at https://www.cookingismessy.com/2013/11/25/apple-pie/