Traditional Apple Pie

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar, if you like a sweet pie plus a little for dusting the top (or more)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 -6 cortland apples, mcintosh or 5 -6 any other baking apples
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional) or 1 1/2 tablespoons dry tapioca (optional)
• 1 pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie, bottom crust fitted into a 9 inch pie plate and top crust transferred to a rimless baking sheet, bot
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
• milk, as needed

Recipe

• 1 toss together the sugars, spices, and salt. peel and core the apples and cut them into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. toss the apples with the lemon juice and the dry ingredients, adding the cornstarch or the tapioca if you want a less runny pie.
• 2 pile the apples into the rolled out bottom crust, making the pile higher in the center than at the edges. dot with butter. cover with the top crust. decorate the edges with a fork or your fingers, using any method you choose. refrigerate while you preheat the oven to 450.
• 3 place the pie on a cookie sheet and brush the top lightly with milk; sprinkle with sugar. use a sharp paring knife to cut two or three 2 inch long vent holes in the top crust. this will allow steam to escape. place in oven for 10 minutes. reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake another 40 to 50 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown. do not underbake. cool on the rack before serving to room temperature.