How To Make a Thanksgiving Apple Pie Using Tinker Dust!

The Holidays Are Upon Us, and That Can Only Mean One Thing: Time For Festive Desserts!

Apple pie is sort of a standard around here; delicious any time of year but best when the leaves start to turn.

Apple pie isn’t as easy as it looks. If you’re not careful, your pie will be runny or the crust will burn.

Pie baking is an art! It doesn't take much to follow a recipe but learning how to garner technique and listen to you pie takes a lot of practice and failure, much like learning how to play an instrument or paint with oil paints.

Listen, and lean into the process! 

We’ve established a few tried and true steps to turn a simple apple pie recipe into a holiday classic:

Allow Apples To Rest & Release Juices, Then Drain.

Coat your apples with a bit of sugar right after slicing. This removes the excess juices to prevent runny-ness. Don't let it rest for too long as you do need some juice in your pie

Discarding The Juices Enhances The Flavor

We have always added 3/4 cup white sugar, but with the resting step you end up discarding a portion of that sugar. This is good!

The pie is still sweet enough, but you do end up tasting more of the apple with subtle hints of tartness without the overwhelming sugary sweetness.

Add Cornstarch & Flour

Combining thickening agents prevents your pie from tasting either too flour-y or cornstarch-y if you know what we mean.

Bake Longer And At A Slightly Lower Temperature

Baking a pie at 425 is the standard, but that was causes the crust to be done before the filling. Baking about 15 minutes longer allows time for the filling to get hot enough for the thickening agents to do their job and lowering the temp ensures the crust doesn't burn in the meantime.

Vent The Pie, And Do Not Remove Until Juices Start to Bubble Out Of The Pie 

This is often the biggest mistake, not waiting until this step. If the juices haven't bubbled out of the vent, the filling hasn't gotten hot enough to activate the thickening agent or fully cook the apples.

Cover The Crust With Foil

To prevent the crust from burning, cover the edges and perimeter of the pie crust generously with foil, leave the center of the vent exposed. Remove the foil when the juices just start to bubble out.

Allow Pie To Cool Completely Before Serving

This allows the filling to complete the thickening process, which is incomplete while the pie is still hot.

Use Festive Cookie Cutters To Adorn The Crust

Roll out a bit of extra dough and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Top crust with shapes before baking.

We used this holly leaf set, but how cute would this apple shape be?

Check out our full assortment of cookie cutters here!

Save The Cinnamon-Sugar Sprinkles For The End

We like to top our pie with a bit of cinnamon & sugar the last few minutes of baking to give the crust a sparkly crunch.

Bonus points: mix your favorite Tinker Dust® color in with the cinnamon & sugar to make the whole thing special & festive!

Dough:

• 6 tablespoons of cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 & 1/2 cups flour
• 1 & 1/4 tablespoon salt
• a few tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of salt
• 10 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced & peeled
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Your favorite Tinker Dust + more cinnamon & sugar for topping

Prepare The Dough:

Mix salt & flour together in a large food processor, then add shortening & butter. Pulse several times until you have a coarse, crumbly meal.

Slowly drizzle in the water and continue to pulse until you have a sticky clump.

On a floured surface (with floured hands) fold the dough into itself with a bit more flour until it's a little less sticky, separate into two halves, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Flour your surface again, then roll each half out into a large disc.

Fit one into a 9 inch. Leave the other disc on a sheet of parchment paper with a cutting board under it.

Chill both until ready to use.  

Filling & Pie Assembly:

• Preheat oven to 400. Stir 1/4 cup of the white sugar with the apples in a large bowl, making sure apples are coated.
• Let stand 15-20 minutes, and drain the juices, discarding.
• Stir together the rest of the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon, & salt and mix with apple slices.
• Make sure all slices are coated.
• Dump the whole bowl into your pastry-lined pie plate and make sure it's evenly distributed in the plate.
• Cut butter into small cubes and dot over apples.
• Cover the apples with the other crust. Seal & flute, and cut slits into the top to vent.
• Cover the edges of the crust with strips of aluminum foil.
• Bake about 50 minutes in the center of the oven, until juices begin to bubble through the slits.

* Remove foil and bake another 10.

If you'd like, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush on top of the crust, then sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, & Tinker Dust® after removing the foil.

Remove from oven once the crust has turned golden brown and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Warm if you'd like in the microwave & top with homemade whipped cream. Yummmm.