One of my dearest friends, Kate, got married back in September.  She married Chan, an apple pie lover, which makes him an exceptional choice in my book.  After deciding on a date and the most perfect location ever, they asked me if I would be willing to make apple pie instead of cake for their reception, which I agreed to immediately!

Making 11 pies for 80 guests seemed easier than making a whole wedding cake.   My friend Kailyn had access to a professionally equipped kitchen with two ovens and we were able to assemble, bake and transport all within about 5 hours.  Kailyn and some of Kate’s friends provided the pie plates and the whole plan came together very nicely, apple pie was perfect for a cozy September wedding.

I have provided you with the recipes for the pieces (crust and topping) of this pie in other posts but I figured I should gather them all up and offer them in one place.   Apple pie is about as classic as you can get when it comes to dessert.  It has withstood a long history, many variations and has been a symbol and gift of love in many home kitchens.  I think these characteristics made it an extremely appropriate wedding dessert.  I was so happy to share a slice of apple pie love with Kate and Chan as they started their life together.

This pie will keep for a day or two in a cool place on the counter or in the fridge.  I don’t like it really cold so I keep mine on the counter.  I find that this pie doesn’t usually hang around for more than a day, I eat if for dessert one night and breakfast the next morning!

Classic Apple Pie
yield – 1 nine inch pie

For the filling:

3 lbs favorite baking apple (about 8 to 10 large apples) cored, peeled and sliced
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves

For topping: 

1 ¼ cups flour
½ cup finely chopped pecans
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 stick of butter, melted

To make the crust:

Place all the ingredients for the crust, minus the water, in a bowl and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and transfer to a bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times till butter is broken up and it looks like course meal.  Continue to pulse while adding water through pour spout one Tbsp at a time.  Pulse till the dough starts to come together in a ball. Turn dough out onto floured surface, shape into disc, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from fridge, roll out on a floured work surface, fit into pie pan, crimp edges and return pie crust to the freezer, freeze for 10 minutes.

To make the crumb topping:

Melt butter and let it cool slightly. In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork.  While stirring with fork, slowly drizzle in butter and mix till you have uneven clumps and crumbs.  Set aside.

To assemble:

Mix sliced apples with sugar, flour and cinnamon. Spread the apples in the pie shell, and cover with crumb topping.  Bake for 40 minutes, check and rotate.  Cooking time will total about 50 minutes.  Top and crust should be brown and apples bubbly. You can test with a paring knife, it should go in smoothly, unforced. Cool for at least an hour.