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Apple Pie

Recipe: Apple Pie

Summary: Lots of steps, but what apple pie isn't??

Ingredients

CRUST:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • Ice water

FILLING:

  • 3/4 cup sugar (white or brown depends on personal preference)
  • 1-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Dash salt
  • Fresh nutmeg
  • 6-7 peeled, cored, and chopped or sliced apples
  • 1 (16-ounce) jar quality applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces
CRUNCH TOPPING_
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • Dash salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. Crust:  Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening.
  3. Beat egg in a liquid measure. Add vinegar and enough water to equal ⅓ c.
  4. Add to dry ingredients and form dough into a ball.
  5. NOTE_ I usually make this in the food processor and roll either on a silicone baking sheet or between sheets of plastic wrap. This allows you to roll it thin and still pick it up without having to add extra flour to handle.
  6. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough.
  7. Filling:  Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest in a bowl. Stir in the apples, applesauce, and lemon juice.
  8. Spoon the apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter.
  9. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie.
  10. Crunch topping_ Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Quick Notes

NOTES: I use an 8 oz bottle of applesauce and cook it down so it's thick before adding it to the apples. This is really the secret to this recipe. It makes a nice binder and gives it a really "appley" flavor.

I use a mixture of tart and sweet apples. All need to be ones that hold up well to baking (Cortland, Granny Smith, Macintosh, Gala, Braburn or Honey Crisp) The apples will affect the flavor and texture more than anything else.

Bother to buy whole nutmeg and use a plane grater to grate it.

Don't skip the salt.

Butter, not margerine, goes without saying... I double the crunch topping and paint the lattice with heavy cream or a beaten egg first so it will stick to the crust better.

Microformatting by hRecipe.
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