One memorable summer of my childhood, my family was planning to visit our
local county fair. Before we headed out to enjoy the sights and sounds that come with a fair, my father had the great thought of
my mother entering her apple pie into the pie contest. I think he had to convince her to enter it, as she wouldn't have done so on her own. We all knew that Mom's pies were the best we ever had and that she would do well in the contest.
The day of the contest, Momma took her apple pie to the display table and filled out her registration card. We left it there to enjoy all the fair had to offer and when we returned to the contest area later in the day, we were all in for a pleasant surprise. Mom's apple pie had won third place!
There was her pie, half eaten by the judges and along side it stood a beautiful basket full of fruit - her third place prize! We were all so happy for her and so proud of her pie-making skills. We knew that she had it in her. After a fun day at the fair, we headed home with hearts full of joy and a basket full of fruit. (Maybe another pie in the making :)
Here is a wonderful, simple apple pie recipe that my mother passed down to me. If pies haven't been easy for you to make in the past or you have no experience at all, try this recipe out! You can do it!
Perfect Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks of the real thing)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
5 - 10 tablespoons ice water
Directions:
Measure flour into a medium bowl. Mix in salt (if needed).
Cut butter into pieces as you add it to the bowl, then mix into flour using pasty cutter until crumbly.
Add ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork, until the dough sticks together.
Form a rectangle log with your hands and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 20 min or longer (overnight is fine, this dough freezes well too).
Before rolling out the dough, you will cut the rectangle log in half - to make a top and bottom crust.
***A few pie crust tips***
The less you mix and handle the dough, the better. The less you handle it, the flakier it will be!
Before rolling the dough, take the log of dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 10 min or so, just to take the chill off. The goal is to have cold dough, but not rock hard dough.
When rolling it out, use a well-floured surface. If the edges of the circle break apart, piece them together like a puzzle. It doesn't have to be perfect to look and taste great!
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!
In order that the pie crust can sit in the fridge a while before rolling it out, here is the order in which I found it best to make a pie:
Mix dough and place in fridge
Create pie filling and set aside
Turn on oven to correct temp.
Roll out dough and place in pie plate
Pour filling into the plate
Cover with top crust (if called for)
Place in the oven to bake!
Award Winning Apple Pie
Ingredients:
1 recipe for double pie crust (above)
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (I like to use a mixture of half sweet apples and half tart apples - like Golden Delicious and Granny Smith )
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions:
- Prepare crust as directed in recipe above and place it in the fridge.
- Peel, core and slice your apples and place in a large bowl
- Add to the bowl sugar, flour, and spices. Gently toss to coat.
- Turn on oven to 375*. Roll out dough and line the bottom of pie plate with one pastry circle. Transfer apple mixture to pie plate.
- Cut 5 or 6 small pieces of butter and place on top of pie filling.
- Place the second pastry circle on top of pie and pinch edges to seal, trim off the bottom of the edges as needed. Cut slits in top crust (in the shape of a letter if you would like).
- If desired, brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- To prevent over-browning, cover edges of the pie (just the crust) with strips of foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake another 20 minutes or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbling up through the pastry slits. Cool on wire rack and enjoy!
Don't let making your own pie crust from scratch scare you. Once you make it and enjoy it,
you won't want to ever return to store bought crust. This is a wonderful dessert to share with friends, served with a cup of tea or coffee
(or a scoop of vanilla ice cream).
I pray that your home is filled with
love, peace, joy and the sweet scent of apple pie!
Blessings,
