Grandma Elsa's Apple Pie

In honor of two birthday celebrations today (my older sister's and a friend's), Ken and I made my Grandma Elsa's much beloved apple pie recipe. Unfortunately, my older sister lives in Hawaii and will not be able to taste the buttery richness of the pie crust and the sweet cinnamon-vanilla apple filling. Sorry, sister. But my friend who lives here in Seattle and is part of our weekly community group will definitely enjoy a slice of this deep-dish apple pie tonight. This is my first time sharing this recipe with the general public, so I hope you it compels you to immediately grab some butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and apples--and start baking.
Enjoy!

Grandma Elsa's Apple Pie Recipe

(Best prepared in a deep-dish pie pan)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

Pie Crust Recipe, doubled, so that you have a top and bottom (My favorite recipe is here. Make sure to use real butter; you can use a prepared pie crust in a pinch.)

7-8 large Fuji apples, cored and sliced (any variety of apple works great; also, I keep the skin on)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Core and slice all apples, cutting the slices thinly (about 1/4" to 1/2" in width). Set aside. 

My Grandma at this point in the recipe would steam the apple slices about 5 minutes in a large pot. I do love this step and if you choose to forgo it, please add another 10 minutes or so to your total bake time.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat, then stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water and bring to a boil. Add vanilla extract and cinnamon. Reduce temperature to low and simmer 5 minutes.

Prepare the bottom crust of your pie and place in pie pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust or pattern of your choosing. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust, pouring slowly. 

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 30-45 minutes (if possible), so the filling can firm up. Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.

P.S. Fruit pie is way better than cake, I've realized. ;)

Photos of the process (below):