Dad's favorite apple pie

It's pie time! What's your favorite? Mine, apple. My dad was an apple pie junkie! He had four daughters who all tried to master the apple pie for his birthdays and the holidays. One of the many sweet things about him, was that he always ate whatever we baked.  And there were some real flops!  He would say they were perfect and ask for seconds. I remember a time when my sister forgot to peel the apples. He ate it happily, laughed, and asked for seconds. As I think of it now, I'm convinced that he was always generous in his compliments so we'd keep trying! We all four finally mastered the many versions of apple pie and he loved every last one of them. He knew what he was doing, creating a legacy of daughters who would continue making him his apple pies:).

Ingredients

FOR THE APPLE FILLING:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 8 cups thinly sliced and peeled apples, about 7-8 medium apples
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp VanillaPura Mexican/rum vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into little cubes and softened a little

FOR THE CRUST:

Use your favorite pie crust recipe

INSTRUCTIONS

In a bowl combine white sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

1. In a large bowl combine sliced apples and lemon juice,  and vanilla, then add the mixed dried ingredients and using a spatula stir everything together until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
3. Place pie crust in pie dish and tuck it in with your fingers. Trim excess dough if needed and flute the edges.
4. Spoon the apple filling into the crust but leave most of the liquid in the bowl.
5. To make the crumble topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter cubes in a bowl and use a fork, pastry cutter, or your hands to combine until thick and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over apple filling.
6. Place pie dish on a large enough baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 30 more minutes until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up. If the edges brown to quickly cover them with a pie shield after 20 minutes.
7. Let the pie cool completely before cutting into it to allow the filling to thicken up. Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
8. Top with Whipped cream. Add a splash of vanilla and it will make all the difference