Truly, the best easy apple pie recipe in my dessert dossier.
Jeanette’s Apple Pie: I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and have).
As cooks and diners, we all have our favorite recipes. Whether tucked, folded, boxed or ring-bound, our culinary keepsakes tell a story about us from the company we keep to the good times we enjoy. One such recipe for me is a delicious apple pie–a go-to dessert that garners rave reviews and makes old men weep. (Well, it was actually more of a sob.) And if that isn’t enough, the pie is a cinch to make. No mixing conundrums, no dough deliberations, no runny messes in a pan; this is the perfect pie recipe for the beginner and chef alike.
THE apple pie recipe –worn, torn, stained, and well-loved.
The recipe comes from my friend Jeanette, former restaurateur, and unwavering devotee of all things delicious. Her culinary talents have left me speechless (even without my mouth full). We may live on opposite sides of Puget Sound now, but when I make this pie, Jeanette is surely in my kitchen as she is in my heart.
The foolproof oil dough requires no rolling or fussing over. Simply press (or smush as I like to say) the damp crumbly dough into the pie plate. Start with the sides, working your way down to the bottom of pie plate.
On to the apple pie filling!
The filling is as easy to make as the crust. Core and slice the apples (sometimes I peel them, sometimes I don’t). Mix the apples with the remaining dry ingredients, and pop the apples in the pie plate. Top apples with the reserved pie dough crumble and bake.
Juicy filling say hello to crispy crust.
Jeanette’s Best Easy Apple Pie
Print recipe
| Serves | 8-12 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 50 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hours, 20 minutes |
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 heaped teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2/3 cups vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 6-7 Medium apples (mix it up, e.g. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Jonagold)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup butter
Directions
| Dough | |
| Step 1 | |
| Mix first three dry ingredients: flour, sugar salt | |
| Step 2 | |
| Add vegetable oil and milk to dry mixture. Work together until mixture resembles damp coarse sand or tiny pebbles. Reserve one cup of mixture for the top crust. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Place remaining dough mixture into pie plate and press to form crust on the sides first, then do the same to form bottom crust. Fill any holes with crumbs and press firmly. | |
| Apple Filling | |
| Step 4 | |
| Core, peel apples and slice in to hearty chunks or slices. Mix apples with remaining dry ingredients: flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mound apples in the dough-lined pie plate. No need to press down apples; the crumb topping will fill up the gaps. Dot with butter | |
| Pie Assembly | |
| Step 5 | |
| Add the reserved pie crumble (crust) to top the pie. Add one tablespoon at a time covering pie evenly. Bake at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes, apple filling will bubble. | |
I won’t flatter myself. Boz’s visit to the dinner table had nothing to do with the company; it was all about the pie.
For once I tried to be brief and wrote “lucky dog!”, but the blog told me not enough words and to go back and rewrite my comment! Skip birthday cake-let us eat pie!
Finally, the tasty divine recipe! Easy does it here! I see your dog is waiting for his big piece! A must make! Yummy!
Apple pie is the ultimate comfort food dessert! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner too – yum! Love the picture of Boz….such patience waiting for his share of the pie!
I think the serving size is actually two, with plate licking reserved for Tess the Wonder Dog!
I’m going to make one of these for David for Valentine’s Day!
Margaret, let me know what you and David think.
This apple pie is now in my recipe file. Have never made a pastry crust using oil. I take it that Boz liked the pie, too?
OMGoodness! Note to self: pick up juicy apples to make Tom’s wonderful-looking-apple pie this week!
This pie looks amazing. I have never used this type of crust.
This looks fantastic. I’m making this soon. And I agree with Tamara… Who needs birthday cake?!
Your apple pie looks delicious, Tom. I knew I was in the mood for something but didn’t quite know what is was … this is IT!
I love to see old handwritten recipes, unfortunately I have none from my Mom or Grandmothers mostly because they never used recipes — my Mom made a pie every Sunday when we were kids. If there were any old recipes, they didn’t make the trip to California from Minnesota in the 60’s — neither did my collection of Indian Arrowheads . Grandma used to say, 3 moves is like a fire.
I’ve been thinking about writing some of my best recipes to give to my son as a keepsake and this just might get me started.
That is a great idea Cindy. Write down those recipes and share them with your son. Such things are better than gold. I love your Grandmother’s saying. We moved a lot when I was a kid; I’ll have to share that saying with my Mom.
Can someone tell me how to post your profile pic on blogs?
Hi Cindy, the only way I know how to do it is through creating a universal avatar or gravatar as this one is called. Instructions here: http://en.gravatar.com/
Good luck, Tom
Thank you Tom, for being a man of your word and sharing the recipe. Never mind that I’ve been pacing around in anticipation since you showed us the pie and promised you’d be back with the scoop. I think I lost some weight with all that pacing. Thank you again.
I have all the ingredients in house. It’s a sign. I will be making this today, before 4 kids arrive home from school and work. You are about to acquire five new fans though because Grandma lives with us too!
Oh Bebe, I’m waiting for the report from your in-house panel of pie experts. Let me know what they have to say. Sorry it took so long to post it, the last week was fraught with interruptions and pie-detours. Thanks for being so sweet and patient.
Ever since I made your apple blackberry custard crumble, I’m a believer! Needless to say, I made this tonight and LOVED the easiness of the crust. My husband went for seconds and my daughter asked to eat our crumbs. Thank you, Tom!!!
Music to my ears. A family that eats pie together…well, it’s awesome.
Yay! So fuss-free, I love it. A real keeper.
Wow! Thanks Tom and Jeanette
I am off to try this delish delicacy right now, alas I will have to share though!
Tom, I haven’t done the crust with oil before. Next timeI’ll try it.
It looks delicious. Thank you.
Tom, the pie was wonderful. However, I could not find a size for the pie plate in the recipe. The nine inch would not hold the crust pastery but fortunately I had a 10 inch. I used seven apples and I swear they made a pile 5 inches high and didn’t leave much room for the crumbles. Maybe I need a deep dish pie plate.
Hi Carol, try this: chunky apple pieces work better than flat slices, don’t press the apples down and let the crumbs fill the apple gaps. Maybe take a chopstick or fork and gently work the crumb in the top layer. It’s okay if the pie is piled high, but a deep dish is a really good idea, so you don’t have to fuss over the height and the avalanche of crumbs.
Happy Valentine’s Day to a true sweetie. Are you on vacation?
Thanks Karen, I’m woefully behind on about everything and not on vacation, but I must say, a little sun time on the beach would be most welcome. Thanks for the kind Valentine!
Made this one last night, Tom – it was a hit!
Woo-hoo Shelley! Glad to hear it.
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