Do you need an easy pie recipe that everyone will go wild over? Just look at that light, melt-in-your mouth, flaky-licious crust. And Kent will tell you, the apples in his Mom's pie are always done perfectly. There is NO ONE who makes apple pie better than my awesome mother in law, Mary Ellen, and this recipe is pretty simple and straightforward, too! (Click here to read about why I love her so much.)
Mary Ellen's Famous Easy Homemade Apple Pie
Yield 10 inch pie pan
Best served warm with real whipped cream (never use the gross tubs of “Cool Whip”!) or homemade vanilla ice cream, of course!
Ingredients
Crust -- note that this makes two pies with two pie crusts each, one for the bottom and top — Mary Ellen's pans are 10 inch:
- 5 cups flour — I use organic all-purpose flour
- 2 cups shortening — I use this shortening or you could also use lard!
- 1 teaspoon vinegar — this is the kind I use
- 1 egg
- Dash of salt, this sea salt is my favorite
- Water
Filling (enough for one pie):
- Peel and slice Macintosh or Ida Red apples (that's what Mary Ellen uses, I'll also use honey crisp sometimes), organic apples are best since apples are highly sprayed. You'll need enough apples to mound up, approximately 3 pounds or about 8 apples. Pass out the peels to your family as you're making this, they're so good by themselves or maybe with a little cinnamon, but don't toss them. Organic apples are too valuable to waste any part of them!
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup sugar — I use organic cane sugar or organic palm sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon — I love this cinnamon
- Dash sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 thick pats of butter (see why I love her?!), pastured butter is best
- Little bit of milk for moistening
Instructions
- Mix flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together, then stir the apples in and toss everything around well. Set aside until your bottom crust is ready.
- Make your crust... Blend flour and shortening together. Place vinegar, egg and salt into a 1 cup measure, and fill it the rest of the way with water. Mix it with the flour and shortening until it's all stirred in and not too sticky.
- Separate the dough equally into 4 pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out two separate crusts at a time onto a floured surface until each one is a little bigger than your pie pan. Roll the crust carefully over the rolling pin, carry over to your ungreased pie pan, and then unroll, being careful not to let it rip. (If it does, just smush it back together.)
- Pour the filling over the top and place 5 thick pats of butter around the top of the filling. Moisten the edges with a little milk, so your top crust will stick to the bottom.
- Move your second crust onto the filling, pinch the edges together and tuck the crust under all around the edges. Don't forget to make two slits in the top so it doesn't explode in your oven.
- It doesn't have to look perfect, but it will taste that way!
- Do the same for your 2nd pie.
- Bake at 400* until golden (or a lower temp if your oven runs hot like mine does), start checking it after 40-50 minutes or so.
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Let me know what you think, and thanks Mary Ellen!
Here's a pie Kasey made recently using Grandma's pie crust recipe!
More posts you may want to check out:
- A Thanksgiving RANT Plus Loads of Turkey Day Ideas and Recipes
- Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes {Traditional Turkey Stuffing and More}
- If you'll be needing some ideas for turkey leftovers, click here to try some of these poultry recipes!
- Grain-free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
- More real food dessert recipes
- Cranberry orange muffins
Holly Patiño says
This looks delicious!!!
Ann says
Any reason you wouldn’t use lard or tallow? Lard makes THE BEST pastry crust EVER!
KitchenKop says
Hi Ann,
I was just writing what Mary Ellen uses, but you’re right, I will go add that as an option, thanks!
Kelly
Ruthie Oliver says
Good recipe. I use fresh churned butter that I churn that day from our grass fed cows, and I use Lard from our milk fed pasture pigs instead of shortening.
Mark Mcafee says
But now…..I love the whipped raw cream that completely buries any apple pie that comes near our kitchen
KitchenKop says
Mark,
YES, that’s how apple pie is best, thanks for reminding me to add a link to real whipped cream (or ice cream!) to this post, DUH, what was I thinking?!!! 🙂
Kel
Mark Mcafee says
Kelly,
Few people know this….but I farmed organic apples for 10 years and I loved the apple sauce, apple pies and apple juice that we made every year. Yum!!!!
Jacquelyn Lindsey Hoag says
After 1000s ofpies, i think i will try the egg vinegar solution….but i wonder why you or mary ellen are not using coconut oil as shortening….or, half coconut oil and half butter?It is my understanding there is terrific habitat destruction from harvesting palm oil.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
I don’t think Mary Ellen uses this kind, but it’s what I use in a recipe about once a year — for the types of things that only shortening will work.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Also Jacquelyn — I checked into it more and not all palm oil is a problem. For this one it says, “Dozens of small family farmers in Colombia cultivate and press the palm oil in an environmentally sustainable manner.”
Jill-David Boman says
Yum!
Flo LaDuke Richards says
This looks like something I might have to try this week — to go along with the home-grown pumpkin pie! Thanks, Kelly!
Lori says
I make a very similar pie except I use granny Smith apples (3 lbs.), 3/4- 1 cup of brown sugar (depends on how tart apples are), 1/4 cup unbleached flour, 2 tsps. cinnamon, and pats of butter over the top. Occasionally I will add 1/4 teaspoon of cloves to the pie, if made for adults (kids don’t seem to like as well). Your MIL’s sounds very similar. YUM!