And in more words: I finally made a pie.
Here’s the thing: to make a pie you really have to commit. No half-hearted “I’ll try” or “I hope it works” — you need to own it. Decide, with absolute clarity, “I am making this pie.” That mindset changes everything.
You may remember I once declared I didn’t have the “pie gene” and gave up on crusts. I’m revising that a bit. Some people do make beautiful pies easily, and that’s not my natural talent — especially when it comes to decorative tops and perfect edges. That’s part of why this pie has a crumble topping: dealing with two pastry crusts (top and bottom) was more than I wanted to wrestle with. Also, I don’t love pie crust the way some people do; pastry isn’t my passionate thing. But a truly good apple pie? I will absolutely eat it warm with ice cream. Add a splash of bourbon and apple cider and I’m sold.
I used Mother Lovett’s “never-fail” pie crust that I found years ago, though our family suspects it’s not her exact method — she never used a written recipe and historically made crusts with lard. I stuck with an all-butter crust because lard is harder to source where I shop and I’m a little shy about asking. It turned out very buttery and flaky.
I made the whole crust in a food processor, which simplified everything. If I had to cut cold butter into flour by hand I probably wouldn’t have bothered — I’m impatient and a little lazy. Using the processor made the process fast and foolproof enough that I actually followed through.
What finally pushed me to try again was a freelance job photographing pies for a magazine last summer. I had to make and photograph three pies. The pressure forced me to stop overthinking and just own the outcome. Once I did that, it became possible to make one on my own terms.
My crust wasn’t picture-perfect — I didn’t prebake it, the edges shrank a little, and I still have plenty to learn about shaping and finishing pastry. For now, I rolled the dough, pressed it into the pie plate, filled it with apples and a boozy cider-bourbon sauce, then topped it with an oatmeal cookie crumble. It baked until golden and delicious.
I ate a slice for dinner. I ate a slice for breakfast. I loved it so much I had to give a piece to my parents before I sold my soul to pie-making entirely.
I may never be a pie fanatic, but making this pie made me feel accomplished — and it tasted great.
Cider Bourbon Apple Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
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Ingredients
Crust: makes about 3 pie crusts
- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (about 3 sticks)
Filling
- 6 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 3/4 cups loosely packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
Crust
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Add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse until combined. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, vinegar and water. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse until small, coarse crumbs remain. Sprinkle the water/egg mixture over the flour and pulse until the dough comes together.
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Remove the dough, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This dough makes enough for three crusts — separate now or after chilling. After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Filling
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Toss the apples with the flour and cinnamon. In a small saucepan combine the bourbon, cider, brown sugar, butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil, then simmer 5–6 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour over the apples and toss.
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Roll one crust into a 12-inch circle for a 9-inch pie plate, fold in half to transfer, then unfold and trim the edges. Add the apples to the crust.
Oatmeal Cookie Crumble
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Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and use your hands to crumble it together until well incorporated and crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the apples.
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Optionally protect the crust edges with foil if they brown too quickly. Bake 45–50 minutes, until crust and crumble are golden. Let cool at least an hour for cleaner slices, or serve warm immediately.
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The end.