Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie with Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust

My all time favourite pie is Apple Pie.  I am not much of a pie baker and this is my first time baking an Apple Pie.  My mom makes a really good Apple Pie.  The star in her pie is the crust.  She has always used Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust.  I've tried to make low fat versions of pie crust using either coconut oil or olive oil but none have come close to Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust.  Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening now comes in 1 cup sticks which makes baking with Crisco® even easier.  Follow along below to see how I made Canadian Living's Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie with this great pie crust and don't forget to enter the contest (details below)!

We start by making the dough for the pie crust.  You will need all-purpose flour, salt, Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, egg, cold water and vinegar.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Next add the shortening.

Using a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Whisk together the egg, cold water and vinegar in a small bowl.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.

Mix with a fork until everything is combined.

Divide the dough into two pieces.  Wrap each with plastic wrap and shape into a flattened disc.  Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the apple filling.  You will need apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, pinch of salt, pinch of nutmeg and butter.

Peel and core the apples.  Cut them into 1/4 inch slices and put in a large bowl.  Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a small bowl.  Sprinkle onto the apples and mix well.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the discs of pie dough to an 11 inch circle.  I'm really bad at rolling anything into a circle but I found this dough to roll out very easily and any mistakes were easy to patch up.  Carefully transfer the dough to a 9 inch pie plate.  Transfer the apples to the pie plate and dot with pieces of butter.  I found 8 apples was too much and created a big mound.  I ended up using around 7 apples.

Roll out the remaining disc of pie dough.  Carefully transfer to the pie plate.  Seal the edge and flute.  Brush an egg yolk on the pie, sprinkle with coarse sugar and cut some steam vents in the top.

Place pie dish on a baking sheet.  Bake on the lowest rack in a preheated oven at 425°F for 20 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 325°F and bake for another 60-65 minutes until bottom crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Our verdict for this Classic Cinnamon Pie was that it was amazing!  Next time I would reduce the apples to around 6 so they don't mound up.  The dough was very flaky and the filling was delicious.  We loved the crunch from the coarse sugar on top.  The dough turned out different than the one my mom made.  I believe the difference is that she didn't cut the shortening into the flour until it was coarse crumbs and instead mixed it in until it was a dough consistency.  If you want the flaky texture make sure that you cut the shortening in until you have coarse crumbs.

You can find the recipe below:

CRISCO® No Fail Pie Crust 
Adapted from Crisco®

For one double-crust pie or two 9” (23 cm) pie shells

2 cups (500 ml) Robin Hood® Original All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp (4 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
1 egg
2 tbsp (30 ml) cold water
1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.  Add the shortening.  Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg, water and vinegar.  Add to the flour mixture and stir with a fork until moistened.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape into a 4" disk.  Wrap each with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  This will make it easier to roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out on disc of dough into an 11 inch circle. Carefully transfer to a lightly greased 9" pie plate.  Fill with Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie Filling (recipe below).

Note: I've noticed that I need to flour well when rolling or dough gets stuck to rolling pin and board.

Roll out second disc of dough to an 11 inch circle.  Cover the pie with the rolled out dough.  Tuck the edges under and pinch to seal.  Flute the edges.  Bake according to directions for the filling.

Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie 
Recipe from Canadian Living

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Portion Size: 10 to 12

Filling:
8 firm cooking apples (such as Golden Delicious) (I prefer to use 6 apples)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch each salt and nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp coarse sugar

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Peel and core the apples.  Cut into 1/4" slices and put in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Sprinkle over apples.  Toss the apples so all are coated with the sugar mixture.

Transfer apples to the prepared pie shell.  Pack the apples down and dot with butter.  Top with the second circle of dough.

Whisk the egg yolk and brush on top of the pie.  Sprinkle the sugar on top.  Cut steam vents in the top.

I suggest to place the pie on a baking sheet when backing.  Sometimes the pie filling will overflow and this helps to make cleanup easier.  

Bake on the bottom rack for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until the bottom is golden and the filling is bubbly, about 60-65 minutes.  Allow to cool on rack.

And now the contest!
Snap a photo of your favourite pie.  Share it using #easyaspie and you could win a $4,000 baking experience!  For more details, visit Canadianliving.com/easyaspie!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for The Canadian Living Blogger Network.  All opinions are my own.