A dozen delicious classic apple pie recipes (1960s)

A dozen delicious classic apple pie recipes

The lingering Indian summer, crisp early morning air, vivid leaves and bushels of bright red apples are part of the nostalgia of fall.

One aroma this time of year as familiar as burning leaves is that of apple pie bubbling in the oven. This is one pie that we really have to make from scratch a couple of times each fall.

Though apples star in pies, they’re found in many favorite recipes. Some are best for sauce, others for fresh eating, still others for baking. Buying the right apples for the right purpose is important.

Popular apples such as Jonathan and McIntosh are all-purpose apples. You can’t go wrong with them. The Northern Spy is excellent for pies, sauce and for baking. Many ardent pie bakers will put the Spy at the top of their list. Red Delicious are good for eating fresh or in salads, but not as good for cooking or baking. When used in salads, be sure to dip the pieces in lemon juice or an ascorbic acid solution. One apple, the Cortland, won’t brown when exposed to air. This makes this apple particularly good for salads. It is a bit tart, and will also cook up nicely for sauce or apple pie.

Classic apple pie recipes #1: World’s greatest apple pie

Ingredients

Pastry for 9-inch lattice-top pie
6 to 7 tart apples, pared, cored and thinly sliced (6 cups)
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash each nutmeg and salt
2 tbs. butter or margarine

Directions

If apples lack tartness, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix with sliced apples. Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry; fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter.

To make basket lattice top, cut 18 strips 3/4-inch wide with pastry wheel. Weave lattice on baking sheet generously sprinkled with sugar.

Tilt baking sheet over far edge of filled pie and slide lattice onto filling. Trim and seal edge; flute.

Sprinkle top with sugar. Fold strip of foil or pie tape around rim of crust, covering fluted edge. (This keeps juices in pie and guards against boil-over and over-browning.) Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 55 to 60 minutes or till apples are done. Serve pie slightly warm.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Classic apple pie recipes #2: French apple pie

Ingredients

1-1/2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 cups thinly sliced tart apples
Pastry for 2-crust 8-inch pie
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Mix tapioca, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and apples. Line 8-inch pie pan with pastry rolled 1/8-inch thick. Fill with apple mixture; dot with butter. Moisten edge of pastry. Cut slits in top crust to permit escape of steam, and adjust on pie, opening slits with knife.

Bake at 425 F for 55 minutes or until syrup boils with heavy bubbles that do not burst. Cool. Frost top with thin confectioners’ sugar icing. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Makes one 8-inch pie

Classic apple pie recipes #3: Crunchy apple pie

Ingredients

Pastry for 9-inch pie shell
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter
6 tart apples

Directions

Line pie plate with pastry. Mix sugars, flour, spices, lemon peel and butter with pastry blender until crumbly. Spread 96 of this mixture over bottom of unbaked pastry. Peel apples, core and slice; put in pie plate. Spoon remaining sugar and spice mixture over apples. Bake at 400 F for 50 to 55 minutes.

Yield: one 9-inch pie

ALSO TRY: Get the $40,000 prize-winning apple nut lattice tart recipe (1986)

Classic apple pie recipes #4: Butterscotch apple pie

Another handsome pie features tender pastry heaped with apples and crowned with a spectacular top “crust” — a unique butterscotch-nut topping that’s richer and thicker than the usual streusel topping.

As in all good home-baked pies, this one starts with your best pastry. Tender, flaky pastry is truly the hallmark of a good cook — and with a little practice, anyone can prepare perfect pastry every time. The trick lies in the mixing and handling techniques.

To mix pastry, stir very cold water drop by drop into the dry ingredients while simultaneously pushing aside moistened particles as they accumulate so that the pastry doesn’t become too wet in spots.

Then handling the dough as little as possible, gather it together in a ball and roll out on a well-floured board or pastry cloth. Roll the dough from the center out, lifting the rolling pin slightly as you near the edge. Fit the pastry into the pie pan, taking care not to stretch it, for this may cause shrinkage during baking.

Heap the pastry shell with the apple slices, then top with the heavenly butterscotch topping. Because the topping is so rich, the apples are unsweetened. In the oven, the flour-butter-brown sugar topping mixture bakes into a chewy almost cookie-like top crust liberally covered with crunchy toasted nuts.

Ingredients for pie

1-1/2 cups sifted enriched flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
1-1/2 quarts sliced peeled tart apples (2 to 2-1/2 pounds)
Butterscotch topping (recipe below)
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Sift together flour and salt. Cut or rub in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with water, mixing lightly until dough begins to stick together. Turn out on lightly floured board or pastry cloth and press dough together. Roll out to circle 1/8-inch thick and fit into 9- inch pie pan. Trim and flute edge.

Fill pastry-lined pan with apples. Sprinkle with Butterscotch Topping (recipe follows). packing firmly to completely cover apples. (The topping will be quite thick, resembling a top crust). Sprinkle with chopped nuts, pressing into tapping. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is browned and apples are fork-tender. Serve warm or cool.

Butterscotch topping for pie

1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sifted enriched flour
1/2 cup cold butter

Combine sugar and flour. Cut or rub in butter until mixture is crumbly and evenly blended.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Classic apple pie recipes #5: Apple pie moderne

Ingredients

4 cups sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
6 cups corn flakes (1-1/2 cups fine crumbs)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Roll cornflakes into fine crumbs. Melt butter, add sugar gradually and mix with crumbs. Reserve one-third of this mixture; press the rest evenly over bottom and sides of pie pan. Fill crumb shell with apples; sprinkle with cup sugar mixed with cinnamon. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter; sprinkle remaining bs over top. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 1/2 hour, reduce heat to (300 degrees F) and bake 1 hour longer, until apples are tender.

Yield: One 9-inch pie

MORE: Apple dump cake recipe & vintage dump cake how-tos

Classic apple pie recipes #6: Paper bag apple pie

Filling:

4 large apples (2-1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Directions

Pare and core apples; cut into chunks and place in large bowl. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, nutmeg and cinnamon in a cup. Sprinkle over apples and toss to coat well. Spoon into 9″ unbaked pie shell. Drizzle with lemon juice. For topping, combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup flour in small bowl. Cut in shortening. Sprinkle over apples to cover top.

Slide pie into brown paper bag large enough to cover pie loosely. Fold open end over twice and fasten with paper clips or wooden clip-on clothespins. Place on large cookie sheet for easy handling. Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour. [Editor’s note: Be sure to place the bag not too close to the oven sides or heating elements.]

Submitted by Mrs. Frances McKee 84 South State Street, Vineland, New Jersey

Classic apple pie recipes #7: Harvest table apple pie

Prepare pastry for two crust nine-inch pie. Fill bottom shell with 6 medium apples, sliced.

Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons melted margarine, 2/3 cup Karo all-purpose syrup. Pour over apples.

Cover with top crust and bake in 425 degrees over 45 minutes, or until crust is browned and apples tender. Remove from oven.

Topping

To top, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp. flour, 3 tbsp. Karo all-purpose syrup. 2 tbsp. softened margarine, 1/4 cup chopped nuts.

Spread over top, return to oven for 10 minutes or until topping is bubbly. Place pie on larger pan to catch topping that may run off.

Classic apple pie recipes #8: Ozark apple pie

Ingredients

1/2 cup sifted enriched flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup finely chopped apples
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Directions

Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs until light and lemon-colored; beat in sugar gradually, continuing to beat until creamy. Stir in flour mixture, vanilla, nuts and apples; mix well. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350; bake 15 minutes longer or until filling is set. Let cool. Garnish with ice cream or whipped cream and chopped nuts.

Makes 6 servings — if you can hold the diners down to an average-size cut

Classic apple pie recipes #9: Apple pie supreme

Ingredients

Pastry for 2-crust pie
4-1/2 cups sliced, tart apples
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry.

Combine thinly sliced apples, sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg, lemon peel and juice. Toss lightly to coat each apple slice, then place in pastry-lined plate-dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry, cut slits. Place over filling, seal and flute. Bake in 425 F oven 15 minutes, then at 350F for 25 minutes.

Serves 6

Classic apple pie recipes #10: Naches apple pie

Ingredients

9-inch unbaked pie shell
6 to 8 apples
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions

Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Spread half the slices in pastry shell. Combine all ingredients except syrup; mix well.

Spread half of mixture over apples in shell. Add remaining apple slices, spread remaining mixture over top. Bake 350 F for 50 minutes. Heat maple syrup to boiling point. Pour evenly over pie. Bake 15 minutes longer.

Serves 6

ALSO SEE: Deep-dish honey apple pie recipe (1951)

Classic apple pie recipes #11: Apple custard pie

Ingredients

Pastry for 9-inch double crust pie
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup regular all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups peeled, sliced cooking apples

Directions

Prepare bottom crust of pie: set aside. In a small bowl stir together eggs and milk: set aside. Sift together sugar. flour and nutmeg; cut in butter until it resembles small peas. Stir in egg mixture. Pour over apples and toss to mix. Turn into pie shell.

Using remaining pastry, cover top of pie with full crust or latticed top, Bake 50-60 minutes in 400 F oven. Serve warm with wedge of Cheddar cheese. Store leftover pie in the refrigerator.

Yield: One 9-inch pie

Classic apple pie recipes #12: Cottage apple pie

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
10 cups thinly sliced apples
Pastry for 1-crust pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
Nutmeg

Directions

Combine first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves; bring to boil; boil 5 minutes. Combine cornstarch and lemon juice; stir in. Cook and stir until syrup is thickened and clear. Add apple slices. Cook gently until apples are tender and syrup is thick, stirring often. Line 10-inch pie pan with pastry. Spoon apples into pan. Dot with butter. Bake at 425 F. for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven; spread sour cream on top; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and a little nutmeg. Return to oven for 5 minutes longer or until cream sets.

Yield: one 10-inch pie