- 7 days ago

Grandma's Apple Pie

Sweet, tart apples. Spicy warm cinnamon. Buttery flaky crust. Oh yes please!

“The aroma of apple pie can mend a broken heart.” ~ Unknown

I learned to make this pie on a step stool in my grandma's kitchen. I remember watching her cut up the apples and mix up the ingredients with her capable hands.

She patiently explained why we used certain apples instead of others and how to peel and cut them up. She would make her pie crust from scratch, which is my mom's recipe, and she taught me how to properly roll out the pastry crust. She'd let me measure out the dry ingredients and showed me how to pinch the top and bottom crust together to keep all the apple cinnamon goodness inside.

Waiting to taste her apple pie was torture, especially as her kitchen would fill with the scent of apples and cinnamon while it baked, but it was always worth the wait.

When we sat down as a family to a piece of warm apple pie served with old-fashioned vanilla ice cream, it was simply perfection in a bit, maybe because it was made with love.

"An apple pie baked with love is a gift from the heart.” ~Unknown

Comparing Apples to Apples

Believe it or not Dear Reader, not all apples are "apple pie apples". Now, you may be wondering which apples are the best to use for apple pie. There are a few options that work well, and I will use two to three different types of apples in one pie because they all bring different attributes. Some are bright and tart, while others are sweeter and softer, but all of them are good.

One of the most common "go to" apples for apple pie is Granny Smith because of its tart flavor that complements the sugary sweetness of the pie and its ability to stand up to long cooking times without getting mushy or runny.

Braeburn Apples are another natural pick for apple pie. It has a slightly tart backdrop to its sweetness. It will bake up juicy but not runny which means it doesn't release a lot of juice, so you won't have to worry overly much about having a soggy pie crust.

If you want an apple that seems to be the perfect combination of sweet and tart, you may want to look at the Pink Lady Apple. Not only is this apple one of my personal favorites for snacking because of its refreshing sweet-tart flavor and crisp flesh, but it's also a favorite apple for baking. It holds its firm structure and doesn't turn to mush, and it also has a pretty pink appearance after cooking which means it is aesthetically pleasing after baking as well.

Honeycrisp Apples are exactly what their name pronounces them to be. Not only are they a favorite among many bakers, but they are also a wonderful snacking apple as well. They are crisp and firm, tart and honey-sweet. They do tend to be a bit more expensive than other apples, but they make a good pie!

A Note on Pie Crust

While I make my pie crust from scratch using my mom's recipe, using a store-bought readymade crust will work just fine if you're new to pie making or don't feel up to taking on finicky pie crust.