Cinnamon Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

Cinnamon, how I love thee, especially in a homemade Cinnamon Apple Pie with a Crumb topping! My house smelled so delicious with the fragrance of apples and cinnamon while this yummy pie baked. I made this pie for Thanksgiving and then made it again last week because it is just so good, and because I forgot to take pictures of it earlier. The things we do for pictures! I've made variations of this Cinnamon Apple Pie with Crumb Topping for several years, but this last time I decided to use some oatmeal in the crumb topping. It was delicious, but not much more than just using flour. I love making a pie like this because I only need to make a bottom crust. I'm not a perfect pie crust maker, but the crust did turn out nice and flaky this time. You could use refrigerated pie crust, if desired, or a frozen deep-dish crust from your supermarket.

Peeling and slicing the apples consumes most of the time it takes to get this pie ready to bake. After you toss all the apples and filling ingredients together, you place the filling in the pie crust. While you don't have to arrange the apples, you do need to make sure there are no air pockets or gaps among the apples. Press them down slightly to fit, but heaping them up higher in the middle of the pie.

Then after mixing the topping together, it is just sprinkled over the apples. It may seem like there is too much topping, but use it all. It cooks down into a thin, buttery, crisp layer on top.

Let the pie cool, if you can, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream if desired. I hope you enjoy.

Cinnamon Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
Adapted from here
I used a 10 inch pie plate for this pie with apples piled high. I like to mix tart and sweet apples in my pie, so I used about half Granny Smiths(tart), and half Galas(sweet). Golden delicious or other baking apples of your choice are fine. If you use all tart apples, you may need more sugar in the filling.
Purchased pie crust can be used if preferred. If using a frozen crust, buy deep-dish.

Crust: (my recipe)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) chilled, unsalted butter
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) chilled shortening
3-4 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
7-71/2 cups of sliced apples. I used half Granny Smiths, and half Galas.
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon-I used Saigon cinnamon, but regular will work fine
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour- (or use 1/2 c. flour and 1/2 cup oatmeal)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

Preparation:
For crust:
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add butter and shortening and use a pastry blender to cut them into the flour. Mix until it looks like a coarse meal, with butter being no larger than small peas. Drizzle ice water over the mixture; stir with a fork until moist clups form. Add more water if dough is too dry. Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disk.Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about a 12 inch round. Transfer to a pie plate. Press dough into pan; trim overhang to 1/2 inch.. Turn edge under and crimp. Place crust in the fridge while preparing the filling.

For Filling:
Peel and core apples.Slice thin, about 1/4 inch. Sprinkle with a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice. Drizzle with butter. Mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon in the apples. Set aside and mix the topping.

For Topping:
Mix flour, salt, sugars and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Add chilled, cubed butter and pulse until mixture looks like sand.

To assemble  and bake the pie:
Toss the filling to redistribute the juices. Transfer the filling to the crust, mounding higher in the center of pie. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie. Bake pie at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then REDUCE the temperature to 350. If pie browns too much, lay a piece of foil over the pie. Bake for another 40 minutes or more, until the top is golden, the filling is bubbling thickly at the edges, and a paring knife inserted in the center of the pie goes easily through the apples. It could take as long as 1 hour and 20 minutes to fully bake. When done, remove from oven and cool. Enjoy!