Best Homemade Apple Pie

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F°.  Spray a 9-inch glass pie plate with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Step 2

On a floured surface, roll out one of the pie crusts so that it is slightly bigger than the pie plate.

Step 3

Lay the bottom crust over the pie plate and carefully push in the edges, making sure it is flat along the bottom and sides.

Step 4

Place the sliced apples in a large bowl, add the lemon juice, and gently toss and stir.

Step 5

Add the apples to the pie plate; set aside.

Step 6

To a large saucepan, and the remaining ingredients (butter through vanilla) and stir well.

Step 7

Cook over medium-high heat until gently boiling and then simmer for 4 minutes.

Step 8

Remove from the heat, and reserve ¼ cup of the sauce; set aside.

Step 9

With the remaining sauce evenly pour it over the apples in the pie plate; set aside.

Step 10

Roll out the top crust and cut into strips* (See Notes below for more details how to do this).

Step 11

Weave the strips over the top to create a lattice crust.

Step 12

Slowly and carefully pour the reserved 1/4-cup sauce over the top of the crust. Alternatively, you can use a brush and to simply brush it on or spoon it on, making sure it completely covers the lattice crust because this is what creates a lovely crispy crust.

Step 13

Place the pie on a sheet pan with raised edges (insurance against accidental overflow so you don't have to clean the bottom of your oven if it does happen), place the sheet pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes, starting to check for doneness at 45 minutes meaning the crust looks set and not doughy and the inside of the pie where the fruity sauce is is gently bubbling. Note that store bought pie crust tends to bake faster because it's thinner and could be done at the 45-minute mark whereas homemade crust because it tends to be a bit thicker when rolled out, may take closer to 60 minutes, but keep an eye on your pie and not the clock when checking for doneness.

Step 14

If the crust begins to darken too quickly, you can place tent the pie by loosely draping a sheet of foil over the top. However, remove the foil 5 minutes before the pie is finished so the crust can crisp up.

Step 15

Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool completely before slicing and serving for best results. However, if can be sliced into when it's still hot and if doing so, I recommend serving it with vanilla ice cream.

Step 16

Regardless if using store bought or homemade pie crust, roll out the dough for the lattice making sure it is larger than the pan.

Step 17

Cut the strips and choose what lattice design you want.

Step 18

Start from the middle and work out. I chose to cut 1/4th inch thin strips and weave 3 strips per weave. The longest strips I used in the middle and placed the first 3 then turned the pie so the second set of 3 would make a T-shape in the middle.

Step 19

Leave a space, then set the other set of 3 on each side of the first set.

Step 20

Lift the sets gently to weave the others.

Step 21

Gently dampen the crust where the top and bottom will meet to help seal it.

Step 22

Crimp the edges well so the crust doesn’t separate when it bakes.