If forgoing the cinnamon-sugar compound butter simply replace with 3 sticks regular unsalted butter, chilled. 

Ingredients: 

1 recipe Cinnamon-Sugar Compound Butter, chilled (below)

4 cups All Purpose flour (plus more for dusting) 

2 tsp kosher salt 

2 Tbsp granulated sugar 

½ - ⅔ Cup ice water 

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 

Cinnamon-Sugar Compound Butter: 

Ingredients:

3 sticks (24 Tbsps) unsalted butter, well softened 

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

1 Tbsp granulated sugar  

Method, compound butter:

• Mix butter with sugar and cinnamon until fully combined and no streaks of cinnamon remain. 

• Flatten butter onto parchment paper or plastic wrap lined tray or plate (anything that can fit into your freezer), wrap well and place in freezer until ready to use, butter should chill until completely firm to the touch before use, approximately 15 - 20 minutes in the freezer.

• Compound butter can be made up to one week in advance, stored in freezer.

Method, pie crust:

• Mix together AP flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl until combined. 

• Cut cold compound butter into vague tablespoons and add to your bowl. Toss with hands until butter is coated in flour mixture.

• Smash, squeeze, and break cold butter chunks with your fingers until a lot of the mixture resembles a coarse meal but there are still plenty of pieces of butter about the size of blueberries in the mix. Flatten some of these blueberry sized butter chunks by smearing between your palms (this will help ensure a flakey crust).

• If the butter has gone soft at any point and has begun to stick to your hands, place entire bowl into fridge for freezer for 15 minutes to firm up. Otherwise, proceed.

• Mix vinegar and ice water together, then add to flour mixture one tablespoon at a time, tossing with hands in between additions. 

• The amount of water you will need varies —  so add water until mixture holds together when pressed into a ball, but is still a little crumbly, and isn’t sticky to the touch. 

• Once ideal texture is reached, pour your shaggy mixture onto a lightly floured surface

• Fold your dough: Roll out dough into a long rectangle-ish shape — short side facing you. The sides of your dough may have cracked a little, that is totally fine at this step.

• Fold the dough like a letter: fold the far side down towards you, then the side closest to you on top of that.  

• Press it all back together, rotate the dough 90 degrees, Then repeat the roll and fold. Sprinkling with flour as needed to prevent sticking. These folds are similar to what you would to to make a croissant -- this is what is going to create all your flakey layers! 

• Once you have competed your folds, divide your two in two (just eyeball it!) 

• If making a full double crust pie, form each piece into a rough disc, if making hand pies, form into rough rectangles.

• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill. Chill for at least an hour before use. 

• Pie dough can be made up to a month in advance, stored well wrapped in the freezer. Upon use, defrost in fridge for 24 hours before rolling out.

For apples I recommend Honeycrisp with a few granny smiths thrown in for tartness. If you can’t find Honeycrisp, Pink Lady are a great substitute.

Ingredients: 

5 - 6 apples, unpeeled, cored and cubed (about 6 cups, cubed, or 1lb)

8 tbsp unsalted butter 

½ cup light brown sugar 

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ cup granulated sugar 

2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp cardamom 

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp ginger 

-or, replace all spices above with 3 tsp apple pie spice 

½ tsp kosher salt 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

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Method:

• In a large bowl, add ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (as you cut your apples, add them to this bowl and toss in vinegar to prevent browning).

• Core your apple with an apple corer or by slicing around the core. 

• Cut your apples into 1” x 1” cubes and add to your vinegar bowl. 

• Toss apples to coat in vinegar and set aside. 

• In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, add 8 Tbsp butter and set over medium low heat.

• Allow butter to melt fully, stirring occasionally with heat-proof spatula.

• Soon, the butter will begin to bubble and pop loudly and the white milk solids will rise to the top. Continue to stir regularly.

• After a few minutes the butter will begin to quiet down and bubble and pop less -- at this point you will need to watch your butter very closely to ensure it does not burn. 

• Once you see the first few brown flecks appear, stir your butter constantly until the brown flecks reach a rich golden brown and butter smells toasted and nutty. 

• Quickly add your spices, salt, vanilla, and granulated sugar to the butter. 

• The mixture will foam a bit, then settle down. Cook your sugar/butter/spice mixture for 2 minutes, until bubbling. 

• Add all of your apples along with any vinegar left at the bottom of your bowl to your pot. 

• Add your light brown sugar and stir mixture well to ensure light brown sugar is dissolved, and apples are covered in your butter/spice mixture. 

• Continue cooking over medium heat until apples release some of their juices, and the sugar mixture reaches a low simmer -- about 3 - 4 minutes. Make sure to stir your mixture regularly. 

• Once at a light simmer, add your cornstarch and mix well to dissolve into sugar mixture. 

• Cook for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until cornstarch is fully activated and sugar syrup has begun to thicken. 

• Remove from heat and return to your large bowl or other vessel. 

• Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before using, or even better, allow to chill in fridge for up to 24 hours before use. 

• Note: if making this filling in advance and chilling in the fridge, some butter separation is normal, stir to re-incorporate. 

Ingredients: 

½ cup granulated sugar 

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

1 tsp kosher salt

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Method: 

• Mix all together until fully combined.

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 375 f. 

• Sprinkle surface and rolling pin lightly with flour before rolling out your pie dough, then, roll your dough. 

If making hand pies: 

• The method below is for the simplest option of how to assemble your hand pies. But if you want to do a lattice top, follow instructions below up until folding step, then, instead of folding, cut strips from your remaining dough, and lay lattice pattern on top of filling, then, fold your bottom dough over ¼’ of your lattice, and crimp with fork, proceed as normal from there.

• Roll out doughs one at a time, leaving the other half in the fridge until ready to use. 

• Dust dough liberally with flour on all sides. Roll out dough into a rectangle roughly 12” x 20”, and ¼” thick. 

• Using a 1 cup measure to portion, place 3 portions of filling along the long edge of your rectangle, evenly spaced, ensuring there is at least 1/2 “ space between the filling and the edge of the dough. 

• Make sure to brush any excess flour away from the edge of your filling, and dab a little water on the dough around your filling (so your top crust sticks!).

• Next, fold the filing-less half of your dough over your portioned filling. 

• Press the top dough flush around your filling. 

• Crimp the border of each filling pocket with a fork to adhere, then trim excess dough using a pizza cutter, knife, or scissors. 

• Immediately, and with utmost care, place your assembled hand pies onto small tray or plate, and place in freezer until baking. A wide spatula will help make this an easy task.

• Gather your scraps and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes, then, you can re-roll and make a few more hand pies with them.

• Repeat the steps above with your second half of dough. Re-roll your scraps until all filling is used. 

• Whisk together egg and 1 Tbsp of water, set aside for egg wash.

• Remove hand pies from freezer after about 15 minutes (hand pies should feel firm to the touch, and easy to handle). 

• Place pies on half sheet tray lined with parchment paper, 3 per tray, work in batches if necessary.

• Cut a small hole, or several slits in the top of your hand pies for ventilation, then brush with egg wash. Top with a hefty amount of cinnamon sugar to cover surface of dough entirely. 

• Bake at 375 for 30 - 40 minutes, pies should have puffed and flaked, should be well browned, and crust should feel crisp to the touch. Top with more cinnamon sugar as they come out of the oven. 

• Allow to cool for 30 minutes to an hour on wire rack. These are best served slightly warm to the touch!

• Top with sour whipped cream to serve. 

If making a classic double crust pie: 

• Preheat your oven to 375 f.

• Roll out ½ of your pre-divided dough into a circle roughly 2” wider than your pie tin, leaving the other half in the fridge until ready to use.

• Drape your pie dough into your pie tin, ensuring it is fully lining the tin all the way to the bottom. 

• Fold excess dough around edge of tin underneath itself, to create a lip -- then crimp as desired. 

• Place in fridge or freezer for at least 15 minutes. 

• Blind bake your crust: Line inside of pie with two pieces of foil, leaving some excess overhang around the edges to fold over your crimped crust (to prevent over browning.) Fill lined pie shell with pie weights, beans, or sugar, something to weigh it down. 

• Place lined and weighted pie onto sheet pan, and place in oven. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until crust has started to lightly brown. 

• Remove pie crust from oven and carefully remove foil and weights, set these aside to cool. Prick the base of your pie crust with fork to prevent ballooning in the oven and return your pie crust to oven for an additional 15 minutes. 

• You’re looking for the entire crust to turn a light golden brown and for no spots to look “wet.” If the crimped edges begin to brown faster than the rest of the crust, tent with foil. 

• Remove crust from oven and allow to come to room temperature until filling, about 20 minutes. 

• Whisk together egg and 1 Tbsp of water, set aside for egg wash.

• Roll out the second half of your dough. The top crust design is up to you, but I like a classic lattice top. 

• Pour room temperature or chilled apple filling into bottom crust into even layer, then top with your top crust in desired design. 

• Brush top crust with egg wash, then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar to even coat. 

• Place pie on sheet tray, place in oven at 375. 

• Bake for 45 minutes - an hour. You are looking for your top crust to deeply brown and become flakey, and for the bottom crust to do the same. Your filling should be bubbling. 

• If at any point the edges of your crust start to become too dark, remove pie from oven and tent with foil to prevent further browning before placing back in oven.

• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 1 - 2 hours, until totally room temp and filling has set. 

• Slice and serve with sour whipped cream. 

One of Milk Bar’s first desserts was a fried apple pie served at momofuku ko with sour cream ice cream -- this slightly tart whipped cream is a nod to that, it really helps to cut through the sweetness of the filling. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups (or 1 pint) cold heavy cream 

½ cup sour cream 

¼ cup confectioners sugar 

Pinch kosher salt 

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Method: 

• Add your heavy cream to a large bowl, along with confectioners sugar and salt -- whisk to combine.

• Whip your cream: vigorously whisk air into your cream, if doing this by hand, prepare for an arm workout. This will require about 3-4 minutes of concentrated whipping -- which doesn’t seem like a lot but it definitely feels like a lot. If whisking using a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, whip on high for 2 - 3 minutes, sit back and relax.

• When cream becomes barely stiff, is fluffy, and holds its shape-- gently fold in your sour cream. 

• Use immediately.