The best apple pie on the planet

I made this homemade apple pie with a lattice crust this weekend.  I love baking and am actually pretty good at it...which is part of why I run.

I find baking to be incredibly therapeutic, plus the end rewards where you get to eat what you made make it all worth it too.  The caramelized filling is amazing - you just pour it over the pie, while it's still warm and it soaks into the apple and makes everything all cinnamony and smelling good.

While my pie was baking, I went for a 4 mile run and came back and the house smelled like deliciousness.  I did have a piece with some vanilla ice cream for a post run snack.

Recipe:

1 homemade pastry for double-crust pie
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 pinch salt
6 baking apples, cored and sliced (I prefer Granny Smith apples)

Directions:

Press bottom crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Place pie pan on foil-lined baking sheet (to catch spills during baking); set aside.

In a saucepan, bring butter, flour, water, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn off heat; set pan aside.

Place top crust on cutting board. Using a pizza cutter or knife, slice crust into strips.

Place apples in the bottom crust, slightly mounded in the center. Cover apples with the cut dough strips, with four strips across and four strips vertical, weaving them in a lattice pattern.

Fold edges of bottom crust over the lattice edges to seal, then pinch edges of crust, making a scalloped edge on pie crust.

Drizzle caramel sauce evenly over top crust, being sure to completely cover the crust with the sauce.

Bake at 425 deg. F for 15 minutes, to start caramelization. 

Reduce heat to 350 deg. F and bake an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until apples are soft.