The memories of my grandmother and I making apple pies in her kitchen fills me gratitude that I had that time to learn from her and spend that time together. She would carefully peel and core each apple to not waste one single morsel that could potentially make its way into the pie. The crust was the most important part and she would cut the flour with the shortening and add small amounts of water until she felt the consistency was just right. She never measured but added the ingredients based on her wealth of experience as a scratch baker. She would roll out the crust and fill with the mixture of apples, flour, sugar and butter to create a luscious concoction of the apple harvest that came from her property. The scraps of dough were turned into hand pies and nothing ever went to waste. I try hard to recreate her recipe for apple pie but sometimes I take a shortcut on the crust and buy a ready-made roll out crust. I hear her whispering in my ear every time as I take the crust out of the box. The time is ripe during the fall season to make an apple pie and I have worked to recreate her recipe for you.
The crust:
Flour -about 2 cups
Salt-3/4 teaspoon
Shortening- ¾ cups
Water- 4 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water
Stir flour and salt in large bowl until blended. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork until shortening pieces are the size of peas. Gradually add just enough water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring with fork just until dough holds together and forms a smooth ball.
Divide dough in half and shape into two balls for double crust pie. Flatten into 1/2-inch thick disk(s). Wrap disk(s) in plastic wrap. Chill 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
OR go ahead and buy a roll out crust in the diary aisle at your favorite grocery store
The filling:
6-10 apples, depending on size. Granny Smiths make a great pie but any variety of apple will work
A handful of flour- about a ½ cup
A handful of brown sugar-same
A small handful of white sugar-same
About a ½ stick of butter melted
A pinch of salt
A spoonful of cinnamon
A splash of vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 while you assemble the pie. In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples, flour, both kinds of sugar, the pinch of salt and the spoonful of cinnamon. Gently stir to coat the apples. Add the butter and vanilla and gently combine. Roll out the crust on a lightly floured cutting board to form an 11 in circle and carefully place in your pie pan, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times. I like to bake the crust for about 10 minutes before I add the filling. Once the pie crust comes out of the oven after the pre-bake, add the filling and spread to evenly distribute. Roll out the top crust and gently place on the top of the filling. Crimp the edges of the bottom and top crust and cut a few slits on the top of the pie to let the steam out. Place the pie on a cookie sheet before you place back in the oven. Trust me, it may ooze a little and will make a mess of the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is nice and brown. Let cool before you dive in. Enjoy!
