Crunch Top Apple Pie (Paula Deen)

Sharlene~W's Note:

Saw Paula Deen make this on Food TV and I was sold. The addition of applesauce to the pie filling makes it a perfect apple pie. I may never try another apple pie recipe! MMMmmm.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.0 9-inch ...

• 1 (9 inch) pastry for double-crust pie (homemade, frozen or refrigerated)

Filling

• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 dash salt
• 3 ½ cups peeled chopped cooking apples (golden delicious is my favorite, but also try Rome and Granny Smith)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 (16 ounce) jar applesauce
• 2 tablespoons butter , chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 dash salt
• 1 tablespoon butter , at room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the dough.
3. Toss apples with 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl.
4. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Pour over apples and toss. Stir in applesauce. Spoon this mixture into pie pan and dot with butter.
5. Cut remaining crust into strips; using every other one arrange over top of pie. Lattice in remaining strips (going the other direction, crossing over and under every other strip).
6. For crunch topping, combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of crust.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown. (My pie with golden delicious apples was done after 30 minutes at this step, so watch your pie!).
8. Note: It helps to make a foil ring to put around pie crust edge to keep it from browning too fast.

Reviews

[Deb's Recipes]

This pie is very attractive and delicious ~ We enjoyed it served still warm from the oven along with vanilla ice cream! For the filling I used 5 cups of Granny Smith apple slices, 1 1/2 cups of applesauce, and 2 tablespoons each of flour and lemon juice. Along with the crunch topping I added a light sprinkling of cinnamon then baked the pie for 45 minutes with foil over it for much of that time. I will be making this outstanding pie again ~ Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

[gwynn]

This was a very good and unique pie with the applesauce in it. Leave it to Paula! She always has great recipes. Thanks for posting this lovely recipe that I will be using from now on.

[WheresTheBeef]

SOooooooo good :) This recipe has made me famous amongst friends, coworkers, AND in-laws! Ding ding ding! The filling is a bit too liquidy, so I am not quite as liberal with the apple sauce and I always use an extra apple or two. Also-- frozen pie pastry?! NEVER!! Make a pastry with half lard and half butter, and the entire pie will taste THAT much better. :)