I am not a food blogger, but as this time of year comes around, you will find me cooking, baking and crafting more. One thing I have been making for years is Apple Pie.
We played hooky, this past week, from Church on Sunday and went apple picking at Erwins Orchards.
We picked Macintosh, Cortland and Empire. Most of them will become apple sauce, but a few are getting dipped in honey and munch on while others are finding their way into a pie.
I originally started making pies when my great Aunt gave me a pie plate that had a recipe printed in the bottom and a lid that looked like lattice. I used the recipe in that plate for a long time. Then, I believe it was my Junior year of college, one of my best friends got married. At her bridal shower I won a dollar store cookbook. It has been the keeper of my go to crust recipe for 18 years.
The recipe makes two crusts.
I have always been a rule follower, even in recipes. I always did them exactly as written. My hubby is the opposite. A recipe is lucky to even be a guide for him. I think most of the time he sees recipes as something to be proven wrong.
I have made a couple adjustments to the crust recipe. Here is “exactly” what I did last night.
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4-6 Tablespoons white sugar
- Mix the above together
Cut in 1 cup vegetable shortening with a pastry blender or two butter knives into pea sized pieces
Add 3/4 cup very cold water a bit at a time while stirring with a fork until a ball of dough forms. I actually dump in about half of the water to begin., then add it a little slower. I leave the dough ball a little wet. I find it rolls easier and it becomes the right consistency as I work to form it into a crust.
I form one crust into the pie plate. Mine is a little deeper plate than some. The recipes typically call for granny smith apples, but personally, I use whatever I have on hand.
Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
Next I peel core and slice them with my peeler/corer/slicer. I did 5 apples to fill this pie. If you use a large apple it will likely only use 3. I chop the apples a little, and then add:
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- a very liberal dash of cinnamon (easily a Tablespoon or more)
- 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine. All told, I probably use 3 Tablespoons.
- 3 Tablespoons of milk or a splash of milk
Roll out second crust, put over pie, pinch closed, hit with fork tines, put in oven 35-45 minutes.
Here is the pie after the family got home from church and discovered it.
It is yummy, albiet not neat and tidy to make. My hubby always tells me after I make a pie, “NO more pies! They make too much of a mess.”–until he wants another pie.
I love fall. It seems like a return to the wonderful smells an sights of life. I know some miss the warmth of summer, but for now I am happy. Now, if you miss the heat, just think, this apple pie will warm up your house as you bake it and your belly as you partake of its “yummy goodness.”
