Grandma's Dutch Apple Pie
My grandma's old fashioned apple pie recipe is one that never goes out of style. It features sweet apples coated in a sugary-cinnamon mix. The crust is made with shortening instead of butter, which really let's the apples shine. And it's all finished off with a crumble topping that is really unrivaled.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening
- 4-6 tablespoon ice cold water
Filling
- 10 medium granny smith apples
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dutch Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, straight from the fridge
Instructions
Prepare.
- Preheat oven to 400 fahrenheit.
Make the Pie Crust.
- Combine flour and salt in a bowl.
- Cut in shortening using a pastry blender, knife, or hands, until the largest pieces are about the size of hazelnuts.
- Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, moistening the flour with your hands or a fork. Gather into a ball. If the ball crumbles easily, continue adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time and working into the dough until no longer crumbly.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes (you can prepare the filling during this time).
- Flour a large board or countertop. On the floured surface, roll dough out into about a 12 inch circle or until about ⅛ of an inch thick. Every so often, use a pastry scraper or a knife to lift up the dough and sprinkle flour underneath to keep the dough from sticking to the surface.
- Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to the pie dish, either 8 or 9 inch will work. To transfer to the dish, roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, then move to the pan and unroll.
- Trim the crust at the top edge of the pan, and if desired, decorate edges of crust. I like to crimp the edges by pressing one side of the crust with my thumb and pointer finger, and the other with the thumb of my other hand. I work my way around the whole crust until it is all crimped.
- Put pan in refrigerator until ready.
Prepare the Filling.
- Peel and slice apples. This is easiest with an apple corer/peeler/slicer if you have one, but you can also do this by hand. There should be about 7 cups of apples for filling once peeled and sliced.
- Mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Combine with the apple mixture and toss until apples are evenly coated.
- Fill prepared pie crust with the apple mixture. It will be mountainous- this is what you want.
Make the Topping.
- Combine the flour and brown sugar.
- Add butter, and incorporate into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or a knife and your hands.
- Spread topping onto the apple mixture.
Bake.
- Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
- Decrease the temperature to 375 and bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is a dark golden brown.
- Allow to sit for at least 4 hours, then serve or store.
Notes
Store covered on the counter for up to 3 days
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!