Apple Crumble Pie

James likes to brag tell family and coworkers about my baking prowess. This is obviously a compliment, and I (and my ego) am more than happy to oblige these folks when they inevitably say “well, we can’t wait to taste what she has to make!” Cookies, cupcakes, cakes, pies—oh my! And I’ll admit that I am much more motivated to bake when I feel like I have to live up to someone’s expectations.

So when he mentioned the other day at dinner about how I bake well, my mother-in-law exclaimed: “Oh, I love apple pie! You know, the Sara Lee kind?” I smiled in recognition and said in return that “I will bake you a pie while you’re visiting Los Angeles, then!” I don’t think she knew that I was being serious, but who would pass up the chance to score some extra brownie points with the in-laws? I was fired up! We stopped by the grocery store for some Granny Smith apples and I went home in a blaze of determination, ready to prove myself.

Full disclosure: I’ve baked apple pie for her twice before, but both times there was something missing—the first was a wee sour, the second a bit boring and bland. I got the equivalent of a pat on the head and a “great job” for both efforts, but it wasn’t enough. I was in it to win it, baby. This was my time to shine.

…except that, in my haste, I didn’t buy enough tart apples and didn’t have enough butter for both the pie filling and the pie crust. By the time I realized that I was woefully lacking ingredients, it was already 10pm. The idea of a late-night trip to buy more groceries wasn’t appealing to me or to James. So I improvised, and heavily at that. And you know what? It turned out well. Extremely well. So much so that when my mother-in-law took a bite, she said it was far better than the ‘Sara Lee box.’ And hearing those words made all of my late-night substitutions completely worth it. Not only that, but I created a recipe all my own using elements from other pie recipes! Sure, it was out of desperation—but sometimes necessity is the mother of invention! Or so I hear. Either way, hooray!

Some candid notes:

• This recipe is fit for a 9-10 inch pie pan.
• The brandy listed for the filling is optional, but you’ll find that it gives a complexity to the sweetness and elevates the flavor of the apples. Brandy and apples are good bedfellows, after all.
• The best way to mix the crumble topping is with your hands. It’s greasy, and messy, and sticky—yes, I know. But it’s also the best way to test if you need to add more flour or not. The amount I’ve listed is what I used, but you might find you need more (or less).
• I had a smaller pie crust to work with, so my crust did not rise above the level of the pan’s lip. This is not preferable! Make sure you have crust to spare so that you can roll the excess over the lip and underneath itself—this ensures that the pie filling won’t bubble over your crust and underneath the pie itself, making the crust soggy.
• Speaking of crust, I normally use a recipe for an all-butter pâte brisée–but was forced to make do with a vegetable shortening-based crust instead via The Pioneer Woman. I’ll try to make a post about the alterations I made to the recipe sometime soon!