My pie intake skyrockets in the fall. I especially like apple pie and love making different variations of it. This recipe can be tweaked to suit anyone’s pie preferences!

I N G R E D I E N T S

• 2 portions of this pie dough (I use 5 tbsp of water, not 3-4. Also instead of just water, I just a mix of water and a dash of apple cider vinegar)
• 4 medium apples (I like granny Smith and opal apples)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of real maple syrup
• 1/8 cup of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 0.5 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• 0.5 teaspoon of cloves
• 0.5 teaspoon of ginger
• 0.5 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 0.5 teaspoon of allspice
• 1 lemon
• 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of Turbinado sugar

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1 cm slices. In a bowl, toss the apple slices with the juice from the lemon, brown sugar, maple syrup, white sugar, and spices. Pour the apple mixture into a colander and let the juices drain into a bowl for about 30 minutes.
2. Pour the juices into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on low medium heat. Mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Slowly drizzle the slurry into the apple juices, stirring nonstop. The juice will thicken immediately. Add 2 more tablespoons of water. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes a transparent goopy consistency (about 2 minutes). Remove from the heat and let it cool.
3. Roll out one of the pie dough portions into a 13 inch round. Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie pan, and trim the edges with scissors. Let the pie pan chill in the fridge.
4. Take out the remaining portion of pie dough and roll out until it is about 0.5 cm thick. Either cut out strips for a lattice, or cut out shapes and place the shapes around the crust.
5. Mix the apples with the thickened juice and pour into the prepared pie pan, being sure not to dome the apples too much. Arrange the top crust however desired.
6. Place the entire pie in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
7. Mix the egg with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush the eggwash over the pie dough. Sprinkle the Turbinado sugar over the pie. I happened to have a chai spiced Turbinado sugar on hand. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, turn the oven down to 375°F and bake for another 35-40 minutes. If you see that the pie crust edges are getting too dark too soon, use foil to create a tent around the edges to prevent burning. I usually do this during the last 30 minutes of baking.
8. Let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving.