PrintCook the Book: Apple Pie
We've had these books sitting around the office for some time now, but we were waiting for apple season before featuring John T. Edge's Apple Pie: An American Story
Apple Pie is both a history, a guide, and a "little black book" that will lead you to the best examples the nation has to offer. Of course, no apple pie book would be complete without recipes, and Edge has plenty—five of which we'll be bringing you over the course of the week. The first one will be along shortly, but now's the time that I mention our obligatory win-this-book contest.
We've got five (5) copies to give away. To enter to win, all you have to do is answer the following in the comments here:
Where do you go for the best apple pie? Could be a restaurant, a diner, grandma's house, your own kitchen, or wherever. Just share it with us, and you're good to go.
Winners will be chosen at random from among the comments, and commenting will close on Saturday, October 21 at 3 p.m. ET. The usual Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Comments are closed: 84 Comments:
My dad makes the best apple pie I've ever had, so I head over to my folks' house if I have a craving.
ConschBTJ at 2:51PM on 10/15/07
I make my own... apple pie was the first (perhaps is still the only) dish I can bake without a recipe. Just sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar and a squeeze of lemon, baked inside a simple pastry crust.
KitchenKore at 2:56PM on 10/15/07
I make my own favorite apple pie. It doesn't always come out pretty, but it's always yummy. The crust is from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Pastry, but the insides are an adventure every time.
ansate at 2:56PM on 10/15/07
My sister, who like me is not a fan of pie, demands an apple pie from my Mom each Thanksgiving, because her's are so good. I agree. But, better than that is the apple pie from my favorite bakery: Crixa in Berkeley. Their pie crust is far and away the best I've ever had. It's the only place I will go for pie.
KateC at 3:03PM on 10/15/07
I know it's awful, but the best apple pie I remember having is a dutch apple pie from Publix. Since I've had to cut out dairy I haven't been able to try any. Very, very sad. Especially in the fall.
something at 3:23PM on 10/15/07
Mom's apple pie with a slice of cheese on top! Though I just got my first apple corer and plan to give her a run for her money this fall!
bobcatsteph3 at 3:27PM on 10/15/07
My dad makes a really killer apple pie. Very traditional, but very good.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 3:29PM on 10/15/07
It may not be very humble of me to say so, but I make my own apple pie. And top it with vanilla ice cream of course.
Holly at 3:32PM on 10/15/07
any homemade apple pies, or just entenmann's
foodinmouth at 3:33PM on 10/15/07
my mom's apple pie is fantastic, made indian ladder farms apples from upstate NY.
pfibiger at 3:35PM on 10/15/07
My mom's apple pie is delicious, which is funny because my dad is the executive chef.
I like my mom's apple pie for two reasons:
1) her crust has been perfected over years of trial and error and always comes out perfect (and is fabulous to eat raw -- something my mom, my sister and i LOVE to do)
2) she keeps it simple -- granny smith's cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice. My dad on the other hand likes to add raisins and other things that don't belong in apple pie (at least in my mind).
I wish I could head to Wyoming for a slice immediately, but I'll have to do with making my own pie in Brooklyn this weekend ...
katalia at 3:51PM on 10/15/07
"The Apple Pan" on Pico in LA...a la mode of course.
Mike13241 at 3:55PM on 10/15/07
My sister's house.
EmilySC at 4:08PM on 10/15/07
I make my own, usually just throw yummy stuff together, lots and lots of cinnamon and a crumb topping with butter.
catalu at 4:12PM on 10/15/07
Apple farm markets in New England.
gscherr at 4:27PM on 10/15/07
my wife's apple pie made with the apples from our farm. yum
tenpointfarmer at 4:40PM on 10/15/07
There's a baker who has a stand at the local farmer's market - when I don't have time to bake a pie myself, I head to her stall.
jpark107 at 4:41PM on 10/15/07
a swiss exchange student i met during my master's programme invited my friend and i over for a dinner party. she made the best apple pie i have ever eaten in my life. it had a crispy cookie-like crust, a layer of almonds and honey, then thinly sliced cinnamony apples. the recipe was a family secret she wouldn't share, so i have craved it in vain ever since.
lexophile at 7:17PM on 10/15/07
My grandma, no contest. She's an amazing baker in general - but her pies prove perfection in a crust.
KarynMC at 7:23PM on 10/15/07
For a few weeks each incoming fall,the stores have sales on all varities of there apples. Last week all kinds were 77 cents a pound. So I chose 2 granny smiths, 2 yellow delicious, 2 pink ladys ,2 galas, 2 macintosh and 2 Fuji,s...First pie I made, i peeled and cored and sliced the apples into wedges added lemon juice three tablespoons corn starch half cup white and half cup brown sugar, saigon cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg, half stick butter sliced into small cubes Well the pie was the best tasting mix I had ever fomulated. For the seond pie using the same apple mixes I cut the pieces into small cubes , thus making it much easier to get a larger variety into every bite. Had friends over for football and pie and It was declared the best apple pie ever..lol Ken
Kenzo at 7:34PM on 10/15/07
I prefer crumble to pie, and the best apple crumble I ever had was at Le Petit Café right down the block from the Pantheon in Paris. No skimping on the sugar there.
tortor at 7:34PM on 10/15/07
Bear Moon Bakery in Boerne, Texas - they bake it in a paper bag...yummm!
Kimc54 at 7:54PM on 10/15/07
My husband's deceased grandmother made divine apple pies. Crust was light as a feather and full of lard. She left us the pie carrier, but refused to share her recipe before she passed. If only I could make my crust as fine as hers!
Mizbee at 8:06PM on 10/15/07
I sort of have to agree with a few comments above--I love my apple pie. In my rebellious teen years, I protested my mom's "buy a pie" philosophy at Thanksgiving and demanded to be allowed to use the kitchen for pie-making the night before the grand event (with three sisters and two brothers, dinner is a grand event in general). I made a big fat mess and Fannie Farmer Apple Pie. I was thwarted by the crust for awhile, but I learned and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing--unless put up against a grandma. Grandmas must make the best pies, from experience alone (having Puerto Rican grandmas means that I reveled in their flan, not their pie).
StarryRose at 8:54PM on 10/15/07
my own kitchen. I made one last night for my 93 year old neighbor and my 80+ year old parents. We love granny smith for the apples with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, but most important is the crust.
cheryls at 9:25PM on 10/15/07
There's a baker who sells pie at a local farmers market. Gray House Pies.
stu_spivac at 11:27PM on 10/15/07
Easy - Marie Callendar's!
pupilindenial at 12:25AM on 10/16/07
My grandmother makes the best apple pie...
rudolfrassen at 7:12AM on 10/16/07
It definitely used to be my moms,but sadly at 90 she no longer cooks or bakes much. A close second is my older daughters, I will take it every time! Mine is pretty good but I'm never satisfied with the crust. I do love a crumb top mom made them both ways. And I just thought of something, she made fried apple pies too ,they were so good. She didn't deep fry them like some people do. She fried them in butter in an iron skillet ,damn they were good. We didn't always have ice cream, but alot of the time we had fresh cream from a neighbor who had their own cows. I think that was better than ice cream, no, I know it was. THANK YOU SERIOUS EATS! So many times I start out commenting(I admit it) just for a chance to win a neat cookbook, but then I get such great memories out of it I don't even care about winning! I love you guys.
peticook at 7:36AM on 10/16/07
While I'm sure there's some good sources near me in the northern Chicago burbs, I still think the best apple pie is homemade. That having been said, I stumbled across a frozen "caramel apple pie in a paper bag" in my local grocery store and it was a mighty darned tasty for a weeknight. If only they hadn't stopped carrying it!
DuncanHusky at 8:24AM on 10/16/07
The Amish - there is a pretty good size community here in WNY, and every pie I've ever purchased from their road side stands is incredible.....but they really shine with their Apple pies!
mepolo at 9:28AM on 10/16/07
Either a mennonite fried pie or my kitchen for the rustic apple pie I made once.
Kimberly at 9:39AM on 10/16/07
Where do I go? My kichen! I love making pies!
DabbaMac at 9:55AM on 10/16/07
the medici in hyde park, chicago, has the best apple pie. But I don't live there anymore, so I make it myself!
mrsbao at 10:32AM on 10/16/07
My dutch apple pie made from a recipe in a 1960's edition of "The Mcalls Cookbook." The apples must be Granny Smith.
NO_Pam at 11:21AM on 10/16/07
Pennsylvania Bakery makes a damn fine apple pie. In recent years my mom has been getting her apple pies from "the baker lady" in the West Shore Harrisburg Farmers Market.
protest at 11:29AM on 10/16/07
From my own kitchen. I bake it myself!
I really would like this book. I read "Donuts" and enjoyed it. Maybe one day I'll get around to Fried Chicken and Burgers & Fries!
Erinay77 at 12:01PM on 10/16/07
The St. Jacob's Farmers Market (in Ontario, Canada) has some of the best bakeries ever! That's where I always get my apple, or any other type, of pie.
psychsarah at 12:12PM on 10/16/07
I have to say my own apple pie. It's the apple jack.
sjwoodin at 12:51PM on 10/16/07
my own!!
I've finally found the best mix of shortening and butter for my crust, and the perfect mix of types of apples.
i can't eat anything else, when it comes to apple pie!
danielle719 at 1:05PM on 10/16/07
My grandmother is by far the best cook and baker ever, but, not being American, she'd never made an apple pie. One day, when I was about 8, she was at my house and I mentioned that I wanted an apple pie. She said she had to go. She returned an hour later with her first ever apple pie. It was, and still is, the best I've ever had.
purpleceline at 1:12PM on 10/16/07
My wife makes the best apple pie!
Marvin at 1:16PM on 10/16/07
I have this book and really like it - though I haven't made any of the recipes yet, I've been meaning to try the apple pie with red hot cinnamon candies.
Best apple pie is my boyfriend's mother's. It's the only pie he'll eat and I don't blame him - her pies are consistently excellent. Living in the NY/NJ/PA area, I think any pie made with local apples has a distinct advantage over apple pies anywhere else.
SMDNY at 1:30PM on 10/16/07
My favorite apple pie recipe is from Christopher Kimball's Yellow Farm House Cookbook -- the lemon juice and zest added to the filling brightens all the flavors. yum!
m0pngl0w at 2:15PM on 10/16/07
My own. Not because I bake the best pie in the world, but because at least 50% of the satisfaction of pie comes in the making.
Fiksu at 2:22PM on 10/16/07
My friend makes the best apple pie ever.
chasgoose at 3:18PM on 10/16/07
Mine are good, but the best apple pies I've had come from Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck ,NJ.
Mich23 at 3:40PM on 10/16/07
Another vote for mom! My mom, that is. Her scrumptious apple pie makes its appearance, yearly, on Thanksgiving. Other times, she makes a mean apple crostata and a classic apple crisp. Regardless, she always works a little apricot jam in to the mix - and I think that's my favorite flavor element.
Ande at 3:43PM on 10/16/07
Well I too have to say Mom.
Jperezish at 4:02PM on 10/16/07
I've been attempting to make a great apple pie for years and this past month, I got it right. Went to Americas Test Kitchen Website and followed their deep dish apple pie recipe to the tee. Instead of a top crust, I made an apple crisp for the topping and this was THE pie to impress the crowd I had on hand. A dollop of Tahitian Vanilla ice cream from the famous Halo Farm in Trenton and I now can say I made a great apple pie. After reading other comments, I'd love to try everyone's grandma's pie. Beautiful memories and I think that is what I would like to be remembered for, my apple pie.
lolly2222aa at 5:07PM on 10/16/07
Ski-hi apple orchard in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Fresh, fresh, fresh!
tereza at 5:58PM on 10/16/07
Probably the farmer's market in spring. The pastry isn't the best, but there is nothing like taking your first bite of real apple after a winter of supermarket sugar spheres. They're like a different genus!
michichan at 6:19PM on 10/16/07
I rarely order apple pie at a restaurant because it is one of my favorite desserts to make and one that I'm constantly perfecting, with many variations. In my family nobody ever made apple pie with fresh apples, only with that canned pie filling goop (!) so perhaps that is what inspired my quest. Plus I love the smell in the house when it's baking....mmmmm
Jeana at 7:15PM on 10/16/07
When my Mom was alive, her kitchen was THE place for the best pies - apple, cream, banana, pumpkin, and more. My own apple pie with a sweet crumb topping is my husband's favorite, and mine, too.
amylou61 at 9:07PM on 10/16/07
My sister-in-law - magnificent crust - and she even lets her 3 year old help.
maialisa at 6:46AM on 10/17/07
I too make my own when I crave a really good piece of apple pie...I combine several types of apples and when I am indulging, I add a piece of cheese or if I am really indulgent (as if the pie itself was not enough), I will drizzle some carmel sauce on top!
Teri at 7:05AM on 10/17/07
The best apple pie I've had comes from B.F.Clyde's Cider Mill in Connecticut. It's more like an apple tart really but it's fantastic . Since they press apples for hard & sweet ciders right on the grounds , you know those apples are fresh . And , OH the smells ! They also do turnovers , cinnamon-sugar cider donuts and preserves . Wonderful place.....wonderful tastes .
NewEnglandBites at 8:29AM on 10/17/07
A local bakery in Stamford, CT, makes a wonderful apple galette. Their apple crumb pies are pretty good, too.
Stufsocker at 12:21PM on 10/17/07
I would like to say marie callendar's really has great pie. I know it's a chain but it is good.
sln123 at 1:08PM on 10/17/07
as a kid i always looked forward to my great aunt anna's apple pie. then moved on to my mother's super sweet apple pie. now, as an adult, it's my own less sweet apple pie that i can't do without! whoo-hoo to apple season!
angfarrell at 1:10PM on 10/17/07
Hear me out.
I don't prefer sweets. Now, don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a good brownie or the effort that went into a crème brûlée or cheesecake. However, as a rule, I'll take a second helping of dinner and skip dessert.
I recently discussed this with my wife - she loves desserts. And she, as usual, shot me down - cold. I stated that I didn’t really have a favorite dessert. She said, "You DO have a favorite dessert. You love apple pie." And, *sigh* she's right. Every Thanksgiving, you can find me, at 1AM getting back into the apple pie.
As I think about it, I'll even eat a piece of the frozen stuff, or even the little hand-pastries covered in glazing and sealed in waxed paper that pose as apple pie (disappointment comes often). I absolutely CAN tell the difference between the mass produced pies and the real deal. I'll still seek out the apple pie. Any apple pie. ......With vanilla ice cream (the kind with flecks of bean).
But, my wife makes the Test Kitchen crust. And, every Fall we go apple picking. We'll mix up gallons of apple pie filling and I diligently fill empty aluminum pie tins full of the mix and stuff one-each in a plastic zipper bag and stack them in the freezer. There they sit - perfect shaped apple pie innards, just waiting for a fresh crust. Most of them go to friends and family. But MY pie lasts maybe a day, once cooked. Other desserts could last weeks if left up to me to eat. To illustrate, I once threw away fudge that went off (best not to ask).
But not apple pie.
monkeyboy73 at 1:19PM on 10/17/07
I go home to my parent's house for my favorite apple pie.
iyamapotato at 1:36PM on 10/17/07
I like mine because I use Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cheddar Pie Crust and the combination is sublime.
chiff0nade at 2:52PM on 10/17/07
You know, saying anything other than "Mom" here is just plain heresy.
emptyage at 3:05PM on 10/17/07
Unfortunately, the best I've had is from Harry's Farmers Market. I've never had the pleasure of a real, homemade pie.
grs100 at 3:20PM on 10/17/07
Grandma's apple pie. Nothing like the homemade thing
zekks at 3:32PM on 10/17/07
mom makes the best apple pie i've had. but costco does well in a pinch :p
tokin84 at 3:40PM on 10/17/07
Black Cat Cafe & Bakery in Sharon Springs, NY. Vanessa Daou, the baker there, has magic in that there rolling pin.
And emptyage - I would say "Mom" but I don't think my Mom's ever made an apple pie in her life. My Dad, on the other hand, rocks at pies, but cherry and chess are his forte.
katkinsman at 5:07PM on 10/17/07
My dad is alwyas the answer to these questions. He perfected his crust and the pie had raisins - it was the most perfect pie. Unfortunately, he works in foodservice now and brings home frozen ones. They aren't awful, but it's just not the same!
Littlebluesiren at 10:18PM on 10/17/07
My mom's recipe (really from an old cookbook) is perfect, especially when she's the one making the crust. Mmm, flaky. One of the secrets is freshly-ground nutmeg, but really the best part is watching the juices bubble right after it's been taken out of the oven.
And then we eat it cold for breakfast the next day.
philoserine at 11:24PM on 10/17/07
The best apple pies are made and eaten at home. My favorite, the one my mom used to make, also the one I have forced my wife to perfect, is toped with brown sugar and butter.
JetFish at 9:03AM on 10/18/07
Caramel apple streusel pie at the Rustic Inn, Castle Danger, MN. Warm, w/ice cream, for breakfast.
aharste at 2:21PM on 10/18/07
Break out the rolling pins! Down with store-bought pie!
lorrior at 2:51PM on 10/18/07
My mom makes excellent pie. Granny smith apples and perfect crust.
intheyearofthepig at 2:57PM on 10/18/07
I think the best apple pie is my mom's. Home made all the way, the best crust, fresh apples, hot gooey sauce, fresh sweetened whipped cream on top, and everything pink inside from the addition of the secret ingredient - cinnamon chips. I have to search for them nowadays but they are the small red cinnamon candies, usually sold as cake decorations during the holiday season. Now I'm drooling and getting my keyboard all messy. Guess I'm going to be making pie this weekend - because I definately agree with the comment above - down with the store bought pie!
GummiBr at 4:56PM on 10/18/07
My boyfriend's best friend is the best baker ever and you'd have never guessed it underneath his bushy beard and dreads. He bakes his apple and berry crumb pies by memory and his crust and crumb is just unbelievable. It's never too overwhelmingly sweet and everyone craves it!
uninorth at 6:30PM on 10/18/07
Mom makes the best with apples from the out back.
Pierogi at 2:24PM on 10/19/07
an exboyfriend of mine made delicious apple pies. oh how i miss them....
ceforrester at 2:24PM on 10/19/07
I love apples! I love apple pie! I love to bake apple pie! Apple pie is the all american comfort food! It gets no better than good apple pie!
smokingina at 3:04PM on 10/19/07
I make the best apple pie that I know of. I can't wait for apple picking season to start, and then I go crazy.
iahawk89 at 3:20PM on 10/19/07
I make the best apple pie that I know, though I think I might be trying out a recipe that I just saw on this site. Yum.
Jsmith at 5:00PM on 10/19/07
My boyfriend prides himself on his apple pie making skills. This year, we used fresh apples from the farmers market and it made a sure difference! The apples were small so it took a lot more but the flavor was outstanding. The pies turn out so flavorful that just when you turn around for another slice, there are only crumbs because no one can leave it just sitting there.
cptrombone at 5:03PM on 10/19/07
A few years ago my mom and I set out to make the best apple pie. We tried a few different recipes but eventually combined recipes and our own baking genius to come up with a crumb topping apple pie that is definitely the best I've ever had. I think I'm getting hungry...
woodenspoon at 9:06AM on 10/20/07
Thanks to everyone for commenting and congrats to our winners:
Mizbee
Jperezish
Kenzo
mrsbao
Holly
roboppy at 9:35PM on 10/22/07