This HONEYCRISP APPLE CIDER PIEÂ might just be the best classic apple pie you’ll ever enjoy and would make a delicious dessert after Thanksgiving dinner!
In my opinion, only two apples should exist in this world: Honeycrisp and pink lady. Lucky for us, Honeycrisps are fall apples and pink ladies are late winter/early spring apples. As far as I’m concerned, every other apple, except for maybe one or two tart granny smith apples, can just go away. I wouldn’t miss them.
There are a couple of components that make this classic apple pie amazingly good. First, its the crust. You just can’t beat homemade pie crust, but if you don’t quite have the confidence for pastry dough, no one will fault you for buying the premade stuff. Second, it’s the apples (see above). I get my organic Honeycrisps at the farmers market and last week they were only $1/pound. Heck yeah! They don’t put any wax on them, but they do cover them with an organic clay to keep pests away. Go figure – sustainable farming. The third component to this pie is using an apple cider reduction, so of course I had to use a Honeycrisp apple cider. And yes, I realize the bottle has a space between honey and crisp, but when you google it you’ll see it written without a space as well. Trust me – I stressed out how to write Honeycrisp long and hard before I decided on making it one word. I’m weird like that.
I used to be terrified to make my own crust but I think I finally have it nailed down.
I love piling my apple slices sky high in a pie. One can never have too many apples in an apple pie.
I don’t always bother with an egg wash but this time I did. I just so happened to have about a tablespoon of heavy cream leftover from a recipe so I mixed that up with an egg and painted it on the crust before cooking. The egg helps it brown and the cream, with its high-fat content, gives it the most beautiful shine.
Keep in mind that Honeycrisps are juicier than granny smith’s, so be sure to vent that crust to allow some moisture to escape. Once you turn the temperature down from the initial high of 450 degrees F, your pie will cook through and the top won’t continue to brown. Enjoy!
Ingredients
crust:
- store bought or homemade
filling:
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
- 4 large honeycrisp apples peeled and sliced (about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
top of crust:
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or water or milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
Prepare Crust:
- Follow directions for pie crust recipe or on store-bought package. You need enough crust for a top and bottom.
Prepare Filling:
- Bring cider to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). Cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Combine cooled cider, 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Stir apple slices into cider mixture.
- Roll dough out into a large circle large enough to fill the pie dish and slightly hang over. Add apples and all of that wonderful liquid to the crust. Roll out top crust to the same size and place on top of the apples. Work your fingers around the outside to tuck the top crust under the bottom crust. Cut about 6 (1-inch) slits into the top crust using a sharp knife to vent. Combine egg and 1 tablespoon cream. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture, and then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet, and bake in center of oven at 450° for 15 minutes. This will make the top of the crust very golden brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven), and bake an additional 60 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
If you’re wondering how to make pie crust from scratch, be sure to check out my recipe for not your mama’s all-butter pie crust:
And if you’re a fan of Honeycrisp apples (who isn’t?), you love this no sugar vanilla bean Honeycrisp applesauce.
