Apple season is upon is, so naturally that means it is the season of pie.  Josh and I went apple picking on the last weekend of August and came home with a paltry 18 pounds of Earligold and Jonamac apples.

Most of the Earligolds went into apple sauce for canning, but I made sure to save most of the Jonamacs for pie.  I don’t like Jonathan apples very much, but I can’t seem to get enough of every hybrid which includes Jonathan in its pedigree because it adds just the right amount of tartness.  Jonagold (a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious) are my absolute favorite hands-down, but these Jonamacs (Jonathans crossed with Macintosh) were pretty awesome too.

This apple pie is inspired by Green Apple Pie in The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy.  The original lemony version is also excellent, but this variation just screams fall.  I used this spice blend, but if you don’t feel like getting the other spices, you can just use cinnamon.  It will still be delicious.

You will need the following ingredients:

For the pie:

• 1 recipe sweet pie crust or 1 box of store-bought pie crust
• 7 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples of choice (this took me 9 Jonamac apples, which was about 3 pounds)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. apple pie spice (or just cinnamon if you like it the old-fashioned way)
• heavy cream for brushing the top crust (optional)
• decorating sugar (optional)

For baking ambiance:

• For optimal baking conditions, this pie needs some funky background music.  I know I’ve suggested it before, but I am bound to suggest it again and again.

Now get ready for the ultimate apple pie experience!

Prepare your pie crust if you feel like making it and separate it into two discs, with one slightly larger than the other.  Let it chill for at least at hour in the fridge before rolling it out.  If it gets too warm, it will break and you will be sad.

When you’re ready to start, preheat your oven to 375°F.

Peel, core, and chop your apples and put them in a large mixing bowl.  It really doesn’t matter if they brown (the spices will make them look brown anyway), so I wouldn’t bother with putting lemon juice on them.

In a separate small bowl, stir together the brown and white sugars, flour, and pie spice, breaking up any large clumps of brown sugar you find.

Stir the sugar and spice mixture into the apples until all the apples are well-coated.

Now that your pie crust has had plenty of time to chill, take 1 disc out of the fridge and roll it out on a well-floured surface (again, I’m going to plug a silicone baking mat because I’m madly in love with mine).  Carefully transfer the crust to your pie plate of choice.  My favorite is this 9″ deep dish pie plate from Bennington Potters.

Pour the apple filling into the crust.  If your pie plate is smaller than mine, just carefully pile the apples up in the middle.  They’ll shrink during baking.

Now roll out your remaining crust disc.  I chose to lattice the top (I’ll try to post about this process in the future when it’s less than a million and one degrees in my kitchen), but you could also use a solid top crust as long as you remember to vent (cut slits in) it.

I will confess that this next step is not something I normally do, but I wanted to try it this time because I’ve seen it suggested in several sources.  Brush the top crust lightly with heavy cream, then sprinkle it with decorating sugar (I’ve done the sugar before, and it’s turned out well both times).  I think the crust turned out a little browner and shinier with the addition of the heavy cream.  If you have a tried and true crust wash, I’m all ears.

Bake the pie for an hour, or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling bubbles.  The edges of my pie browned quickly, so I covered them with some aluminum foil approximately halfway through baking.

I’m not sure it helped all that much, but it at least helped with my peace of mind.

Now comes the hard part: waiting for this badboy to cool.  I know your first thought is probably to eat it while it’s hot (it is mine), but you’ll be better off letting it cool because it will make the pie less soupy and easier to serve.  Enjoy!

You can download the printable PDF recipe here: Spiced Apple Pie