For at least 3 generations apple pie has long been a favorite in my family. For years my mother would make an apple pie almost every day---my poor father would get two slices and then she would parcel slices out to the rest of the family. It never lasted long enough to cool off.
I do not follow in my mother's footsteps in making a pie everyday but she did leave me with a huge legacy and gave me lessons in the art of fine pie crust making. Since my eldest son, and the father of my only grandchild is coming to Belfast today (to pull traps tomorrow, lobster stew(???) I made him an apple pie. The recipe for pie crust and filling is as follows:
One heaping cup of flour
One half cup of crisco (I like the butter flavor as it makes lovely flaky crust, this should be refrigerated too as it is easier to work with if it is cold)
A tad of salt.
Water
Mix the first three ingredients until it all becomes soft and granular, add the water. Here is the 'trick" the water must be very cold, I use water that I keep in the frig. Just pour a small amount (at a time) of water in the flour mixture and mix until it becomes doughy....but NOT wet. If you get it too wet you can always add more flour. Put the dough on a generously floured countertop. Flour hands, then gently work the dough until it becomes one large SOFT round clump. Again, using lots of flour cut the dough in half and
gently roll out the first piece until it fits in the bottom of your pie plate; do the same to the second piece. Fill the pie plate with diced/sliced apples (today I used Granny Smith Apples) because the new macs are not out yet. Once you have all the apples in place, cover them with a half a cup of sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, finally, dotting it with about three small pieces of butter. Cover with the last piece of dough. Gently baste with milk (this will help the browning process).
Put in a preheated oven of 425 degrees and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes (checking it about every 15 minutes). It will bubble and if the apples are soft it is ready to eat!
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| Ready for the oven |
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It smells delicious!
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