Apple Pie
Pretty and absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
Basic pie crust:
2 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 TB. sugar
1/2 Cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
3 TB. margarine (cold), cut into small pieces
5 TB. ice water
Filling:
6 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 TB. raw sugar (boxes of this are usually sold with baking sugars, or in packets in the coffee aisle)
1 tsp. PENZEYS CINNAMON
1/4-1/2tsp. GROUND NUTMEG
pinch GROUND CLOVES
2 TB. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
3 TB. raw sugar, divided
2 TB. butter, cut in small pieces
1-2 TB. cream or milk
Directions
For the crust: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and margarine and work into the dry ingredients using your hands until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water 1 TB. at a time and work it into the mixture just until the dough forms into a ball. Divide the dough into two pieces. Place each half on a piece of plastic wrap and gently pat into discs about 6 inches in diameter. Wrap up and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour for easy rolling.
For the filling: Place 2/3 of the apples in a pot (we had about 8 cups of apples and cooked 51/2 cups), reserving the rest. Add the sugar, CINNAMON, NUTMEG, CLOVES and lemon juice to the pot. Cook the apples over medium heat until about halfway done, stirring gently to keep them from sticking until the juice starts coming out. After about 10 minutes they should be softening and about half cooked, which is what you want. Don’t worry if you aren’t exactly sure what “half-done” is, they’ll be fine, and this pre-cooking of the apples seems to make the pie stay extra high when it cools after baking.
Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out the crust on a lightly floured surface. Place one of the crusts in a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle the bottom with 2 TB. raw sugar. Spoon the cooked apples with any liquid in the pan into the crust. Place the reserved raw apple slices on top. Dot with small bits of butter. Carefully lay the top crust over the apples. Cut off any excess crust and crimp the edges. Make 5 slits in the top. Brush with cream or milk and sprinkle with remaining 1 TB. raw sugar. To prevent over-browning, cover the rim of the crust with aluminum foil. Bake at 375° for about 45 minutes, checking frequently. You may want to put a cookie sheet under the pie to catch any drips. When the pie has about 10-15 minutes more to bake, remove the foil from the crust. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before serving.
Prep. time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8