Apple Pie the Easy Way

Apple Pie Eásy Mode.

This apple pie is all about keeping the flavors and textures that we all know and love about apple pie and making it a little easier. Here, we make our own ice cream but you can skip that if you want to make it even easier. This goes great with anything but we think it's a great finisher to some good BBQ.

We hope you have a chance to try this Tri Tip recipe out!

Want a visual guide? Watch the video!

What You'll Need

•  You would list the tools here.

Ingredients for Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 vanilla pod  or 2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 3 tbsp bourbon

Ingredients for Pie Dough

• 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup cold butter
• ½ tsp granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup ice water
• 1 egg

Ingredients for Caramel Apples

• 3 Honeycrisp or Granny smith apples
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• ½ cup of brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• Pinch of chinese five spice
• 4 tsp of cornstarch
• 3 tbsp of water

Preparation for Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream 

• In a mixing bowl pour heavy whipping cream. Cut vanilla bean pod in half and steep pod for about 15 mins to loosen seeds. 
• Remove pods from heavy whipping cream. Hold one end of the pod and use a knife to scrap pods. Place all seeds in whipping cream. 
• Beat the whipping cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Should take about 4 minutes but keep a close eye it can happen much sooner. You don’t want to over mix.
• In a small bowl thoroughly mix sweetened condensed milk and bourbon. 
• Pour  sweetened condensed milk mixture into whipped cream and gently fold together until thoroughly mixed. 
• Pour ice cream mixture into a large container with a lid. 
• Allow a minimum of 8 hours to freeze. 

Preparation for Pie Tarts 

• Set oven to 425 degrees 
• Cut butter into small cubes and place in the freezer while you measure all your ingredients. We want the butter extra cold but not frozen. 
• Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cubed butter in a large bowl. Use two butter knives to cut thorough ingredients and mix.
• When your dough has reached a crumbly texture add water. 
• Begin kneading lightly  until the dough comes together. 
• Place the dough on a well floured surface and flour your rolling pin. 
• Form a small rectangle with the dough and roll the dough until it has reached ⅛” of an inch thickness.  Approximately about the height of two stacked quarters.
• Place dough on a baking mat and baking sheet. 
• With a fork pierce the dough throughout. 
•  Beat egg until yolk and white is combined. Brush egg mixture over the dough.
• Place dough  in the oven for 15 minutes and bake until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 
• Using a (3 ½ in) round pastry cutter, cut 6 discs. You may cut dough into squares with a sharp knife  if you don’t have a round pastry cutter.

Preparation for Caramel Apples 

• Peel and dice apples.  In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice and apples.
• In a medium size pot cook apples with  water over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes.
• In a separate bowl whisk all dry ingredients. (Brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, Chinese five spice and cornstarch)
• Add dry mixture to apples and combine thoroughly. Actively stir for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. 
• Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before assembling the tart.

Assembly

• Place caramel apples on top of pie crust, serve with bourbon vanilla ice cream. Crumble pie dough crust as a topping.  

Tips

• Make ice cream the day before you plan on serving.
• All other ingredients for this recipe can be done hours prior to the day of serving.
• Apples can be served warm or room temperature. 

Want to be comfortable while you make it? Pick up a Grillslingers T-Shirt!