Skip to main content

Fall apple pie


I love making apple pie. I also love fall leaves. So an apple pie with flaky pastry leaves in vibrant fall colours seemed like the ideal dessert for our Thanksgiving feast.

I always add vinegar to my pastry dough to ensure flakiness. The acidity prevents too many gluten strands from forming and making the pastry tough. For this pie I used a fall favourite - cider vinegar.

Here's how I made it:

PASTRY
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cubed
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp cold water

FILLING
6 apples, peeled, sliced and cut into chunks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

FINISHING
food colouring
splash whole milk
sprinkle granulated white sugar

While my oven preheated to 425 degrees (F), I started the pastry by combining the flour, icing sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. I cut in the shortening and butter using a hand pastry blender until the mixture looked like coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, I lightly beat the egg with the vinegar and cold water, and added the liquid to the large bowl, stirring with a fork to bring the dough together. I divided the dough into two balls, rolling one out on a floured surface and transferring to a pie plate, tucking the edges under. I popped the other ball in the fridge while I prepared the filling.

I put the apples in a large mixing bowl. I combined the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl and poured the mixture over the apples, tossing to coat. Then I poured the filling into my pie shell.


The ball of dough from the fridge was rolled out next. Before transferring to my pie, I cut out the shape of a tree with branches. Once the pie top was in place, I trimmed the excess pastry with a knife and crimped the edges using my thumb and index finger.

Next, I mixed the trimmed pastry with various food colourings and used my thumb and index finger to form flat diamonds. I placed my diamonds on the pie and used a knife to press in the leaf details.


To finish, I brushed the pie top with a little whole milk and sprinkled it with sugar. My pie baked in the oven at 425 degrees (F) for 10 minutes, then I lowered the heat to 350 degrees (F) and baked it for another 50 minutes until the filling bubbled.


Fall apple pie. Happy Thanksgiving!

What is your favourite Thanksgiving pie? What are your pie-making secrets? Leave a comment and tell me all about your Thanksgiving pies!