Apple Pie

Apple Pie

My daughter had requested an apple pie, so, I made one, today.

Apple Pie Filling

I peeled, cored, and sliced 3 large apples (2 Granny Smith and 1 Golden Delicious), added the juice of half a lemon, 1/2 cup sugar, some ground cinnamon (about 1 teaspoon, although I didn't measure, just shook some out of the bottle) and some ground nutmeg (about 1/2 teaspoon; again, I didn't measure.

Then, I made a basic double crust with 2 cups of flour, 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, 1/4 cup shortening:

Pie Crust Ingredients: Flour, Butter, Shortening

Mixed it up with my handheld electric mixer to cut the butter and shortening into the flour, until the mixture looked crumbly:

Pie Crust Mixture

Then, added in just enough water to mix the pastry to form a ball of dough.  I divided the dough into two portions and rolled one out to a circle large enough to cover the bottom of the pie pan.  Although I used butter straight from the freezer, it was warm enough (especially with the oven pre-heating) that the butter was already starting to melt, when I formed the pastry!

Bottom Crust

Next, I gave the sliced apples a stir to coat the pieces with the sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture and dumped it into the pie pan:

Apple Mixture in the Pie Pan

I know one is supposed to add a little flour to the apple mixture to absorb some of the juice, but, guess what?  I had finished all my flour!  I used the last of it to dust the pastry board when I rolled out the pie crusts!  I need to buy more flour before I do any more baking!

Then, I rolled out the other half of the dough and made the top crust with it.  Trimmed off the excess and used the trimmed pieces to make an apple and leaf shapes to decorate the top.  Cut out vent slits to form the word "PIE" (just in case anyone was in doubt about what it was!)  :D  Brushed the top with a little milk and sprinkled a spoon or two of sugar on top:

Before Baking

Baked the pie in a 375F oven for approx. 40 minutes.  Turned the oven off and left the pie in there for another 15 minutes before I took it out.  

Warm Apple Pie

Daughter has gone out with one of her friends (best friends since middle school!), so the pie will wait until she gets home, later in the afternoon.  In the meantime, the whole house is filled with the aroma of apple pie!

Exactly forty-one years ago, today, I arrived in this country, as an 18 year old, to attend university on a scholarship.  It was an opportunity of a life-time and one that I have never regretted taking.  It seems very appropriate to celebrate that anniversary with an apple pie, doesn't it?

Anyone ready for a slice of apple pie?

Slice of Pie