A Southern Apple Pie Made Easy

My late father-in-law was always fond of saying that “An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze”. He firmly believed that there is nothing better than a warm slice of freshly baked apple pie topped a thin slice of really good sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese.

For some it’s an acquired taste while for others it is an either you like it or you don’t sort of thing. I rather like it myself…lots!

For those of us that really, really like it, you can actually line your bottom crust with a little sharp cheddar before pouring in the pie filling or put some on top of the filling before placing the top crust onto the pie.

Apple pie is actually quite easy to make from scratch. However, being disabled there are those bad days when I just can’t face rolling out a nice homemade crust or my hands won’t cooperate to allow a marathon apple slicing and peeling.

For those days, I have found that refrigerated Pillsbury pie pastry (crust) is about as close to tasting like homemade as you can get. It’s found in the refrigerator section of stores–most often on a shelf close to the canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls or sometimes in the nearest isle chest type refrigeration areas. I try to always have a few boxes stuck back in the freezer just in case it’s one of those days and I need to use a cheat.

I’ve tried other brands and store brands but they all lacked something in taste and texture and in some cases just flat out performed poorly. One just sort of went goopy and rose up in bits and pieces during baking ruining an otherwise perfect pie so I tried pre-baking it with dried beans inside only to have it still go goopy, melting and drooping to the bottom and fusing with the beans. And it tasted like eating pure hydrogenated vegetable oil and was very greasy. Yuck! It was unlike anything I’d even seen or tasted before.

Sorry, if I sound like a commercial but I thought you should know. Maybe there are better choices available in your area though. After all, we only have two stores here to choose from unless willing and able to travel almost 50 miles away to shop. So my options are pretty limited here.

The hardest part of making an apple pie and also what takes the longest is peeling and slicing the apples. If this is problematic you can sometimes find bags filled with individually wrapped apple slices. They still have the peel on which you can easily remove or better still just leave them on. I find opening all those little vacuum packs however is worse.

Peeling the apples is totally optional and a matter of preference. Traditionally a southern apple pie has peeled apples. However, leaving the peels on provides additional vitamins and fiber so it is the healthier choice as well as providing a nice splash of color.

And if arthritic hands makes slicing them too difficult there are wonderful kitchen gadgets that will do it for you. Just make sure it says that it is an apple slicer rather than an apple corer (which simply bores out the center portion with the seeds leaving behind a hole or tunnel) or an apple peeler (used only for removing the peels). Some gadgets will perform all of these functions or at least two of them.

Alternately, rather than slicing into the traditional wedges, you can just make a different kind of slice using a mandolin or with a food processor using the appropriate slicing disc. Just make sure you are actually slicing — and not dicing or shredding by mistake — since we are trying to make an apple pie rather than applesauce. There is a simple gadget, sort of a wagon wheel shape with flat handles which will core and slice apples. I have one but on arthritis flair days it can be just as difficult to use as a good, sharp pairing knife. That’s when I pull out my mandolin or food processor.

If required, you can prepare your apples at your own pace the evening before. Just give them a rinse under the faucet in cool tap water as you go, then place them in a bowl of cool tap water after rinsing. When done cover and refrigerate. This will help them to not turn too terribly dark brown due to oxidation. Remove them and allow to drain in a colander for a few minutes and/or pat dry with a clean lint free towel or paper towels when ready to use.

Alternately, you can toss them with lemon juice and let them stand for a minute or two before placing in water (or doctor your water with lemon juice) but the lemon juice will make your apples taste lemony. Some people actually like that and some apple pie recipes even call for the addition of lemon juice to the filling to keep them from oxidizing.

Personally, I want my apple pie to taste only of apples and cinnamon. If I feel like lemon then I’ll make a lemon pie. I do like using lemon juice for my ambrosia (fruit salad) however as it prevents the banana slices from oxidizing. Oxidized banana slices are slimy (apples aren’t) and instead of brown they turn a very yucky black. And lemon in moderation is a complimentary addition to a fruit salad.

Also, it doesn’t hurt a thing if the apples turn a little brown due to oxidation which is a natural and unharmful process and tends to happen anyway during baking because heat speeds up that process. And they are coated in a brownish or golden brown syrup due to the brown sugar and cinnamon anyway.

Oxidation actually makes the apples naturally sweeter (a true friend when making apple butter) and thus even better tasting. Allow them to oxidize too much, however, and they will eventually become a very unappealing (although still not harmful) dark brown color that sticks out like a sore thumb even out from under the syrup.

If you are diabetic you can purchase a sucralose and brown sugar blend or you can make your own more economically (at least for now–prices are coming down now that store brands are available) just mixing 3 cups of sucralose with 1 cup of brown sugar. Store it in an air tight container or zippered bag and use it as you would a container of brown sugar.

Another diabetic friendly alternative to brown sugar is to use an equal amount of sucralose in your recipe and then simply add 1 Tablespoon of molasses to your recipe. Or you can go completely added sugar free and just use sucralose.

NOTE: Unlike other zero calorie sugar substitutes, sucralose is actually safe to use in baking and cooking and you use the same amount as regular sugar.

Another diabetic alternative is to use half the amount of Granny Smith apples and make the other half a sweeter rather than tart apple. Double the salt to 1/2 tsp. Then allow to sit for 4 hours or more after mixing in cinnamon and other ingredients to allow natural oxidation and browning to occur and a syrup to form. The longer it oxidizes the sweeter it will taste — at least up to a point — just don’t leave it for so long that it starts to sour or ferment instead. Taste a bit of the syrup or a bit of apple along to test it.

Let’s make a Southern apple pie!

Step 1

Mix together sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and apples and toss well. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. A syrup will develop. You want your apples well coated in the syrup but do want to use the syrup because more syrup will develop during baking and you don’t want a pie that is more syrup than apples.

Note: The left over syrup can actually be reduced in a saucepan, sealed in a jar, and saved in the refrigerator up to a week to pour over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, pastries, cake, to be added to canning fruits or to batters, and many other things.

Step 2

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees if you haven’t already. Place one pie crust in a pie dish or pan pressing gently to form to dish/pan with edges left to hang over side of pan/dish, then poke tiny holes with dinner fork to prevent crust bubbling up during baking.

Step 3

Put your apples into your crust lined pie dish/pan. Spread evenly along the bottom and then additional apples should be piled up into a mound to form a hill in the center. The hill will decrease in size during baking.

Step 4

Place top crust, fold edges of both bottom and top inward to overlap one another and gently pinch together, fan fold edges gently pinching folds just enough to make the folds hold together or simply crimp with a dinner fork being careful to stay toward outer edge to avoid poking a hole or tearing the crust covering your filling — which being that close to the edge can cause syrup to leak out during baking and spill over the sides of your pan. (Note: if this does happen you can try to repair it, sprinkle the spot with a large enough amount of sugar to act as a dam, or you can simply place your pan pan/dish on a foil covered baking sheet to catch any leaks although you will need to increase your baking time by 5 to 8 minutes).

Step 5

Using sharp pointed knife such as steak knife make 5 slits for star in center surrounded by crows feet slits. Crows feet are made with one longer center toe and two shorter toes to either side in bird’s foot print like pattern. Not only is it decorative but allows steam to escape so your top crust doesn’t develop cracks or fissures. Just keep them in the center and leave a good two inches or more from the outer edge to prevent syrup from leaking over the edges of the pie pan/dish.

All About Pie Crusts

Step 6

Lightly sprinkle top crust decoratively with granulated sugar and a dusting of cinnamon.

Step 7
Bake for 50 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Note: To prevent over browning or burning, once partially browned lay a sheet of foil very loosely over top and when pie is done remove foil to finish browning crust prior to removing from oven. Need to be sure to let crust brown a little initially to prevent possible sweating and becoming soggy.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 45 minutes to an hour before serving warm or longer to cool completely if preferred. Optional: Serve a warm slice of apple pie with a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese on top.