Apple Pie

I think we can all agree that apple pie is an all time favorite for most people.  There must be a million recipes floating around out there and I don't claim to corner the market on good pie. I will say this, I believe apple pie should be simple. It should let the flavor of the apple shine through.  I've seen recipes for apple pie with cheese (why? why would you do that?), caramel, berries, they all have their merits, but when I want apple pie, I want plain ol' apple pie with lots of apples, a little cinnamon and some fresh grated nutmeg.  You can't go wrong if you keep it simple.

Fancy up your crust if you must, but let the filling speak for itself, and regarding filling, it's all about what kind of apples you use. I prefer macintosh and granny smith. This last time I added some honeycrisp, because that is what the apple committee gave me! It was a really great combination, with the tart apples giving that tangy apple flavor and the honeycrisp bumping up the sweetness perfectly. So without further ado, here is the recipe for apple pie that I use. Simple, easy, cozy, and just plain good.

Crust

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup shortening plus 3 Tablespoons of butter (these should be cold)
6 Tbsp ice water

Note*  Hydrogenated oils are BAD for you. I have been using an organic non hydrogenated shortening that I find at Kroger in the gluten free and health food aisle. It is called Spectrum Organic shortening and it works fabulously. If I can't find that I prefer to use non hydrogenated lard when I can find it.

Mix all the dry ingredients together, add shortening and butter and cut in using a pastry cutter or fork until the shortening is the size of small peas and incorporated throughout the flour mixture. You want these little chinks to make your pie dough flakey and tender.  Once you have the shortening and butter incorporated add ice water (no chunks of ice please) one Tbsp at a time, drizzled over the flour mixture and mixed in with a fork.  When you have all of the water incorporated you should be able to gather the dough all together into a ball. If it is still a little too dry you can add a little bit more water until it holds together.  You don't want it too wet, you just want it to hold together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  This is enough for a two crust pie.

Filling

For a 9" pie

6 cups thinly sliced , pared tart apples

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon (or a little more if you really like cinnamon. I usually use up to 3/4 tsp)

a dash of salt

2 Tbsp butter

 

Heat the over to 425. Prepare pastry by cutting it in half and rolling out 1/2 of the crust at a time. Place it in a 9" pie plate.

For the filling stir together the apples and all ingredients except the butter, and turn it into the prepared bottom crust.  Cut the 2 Tbsp of butter into chunks and dot the top of the filling with the pieces.  Roll out the top crust and lay it on, crimp it around the edge, cut slits in the top for steam to escape and pop it in the oven.  Some people say you should cover the edge with foil the first 15 minutes, I never do, and my crusts are fine. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.  Just a suggestion, I always line a cookie sheet with foil and bake the pie on it. It catches any juices that might bubble through and it keeps my oven clean and is easier to clean up than gooey sugary filling baked onto the pan.

 

And there you have it, easy apple pie that will make your mouth water and your husband smile. Enjoy!

 

Crust

It's no secret I have been baking pies every week for a mission trip that some of the young moms are taking this next spring. Pie making and I go w-a-a-a-y back. My grandmother taught me when I was about 6 or 7 years old and since my mom hated cooking and baking, pie making was delegated to me. I felt like such a big girl helper, I would proudly pull a chair over to the counter and mix up the crust and roll it out and put it in the pan while mom cut up apples. Being little, I didn't know that pie crust was supposed to be hard to master, I just did what grandma taught me and mom always made sure to praise my talents. Kids belong in the kitchen at an early age, it's a great way to build practical skills and confidence in the kitchen!

The old saying easy as pie is so true, just find a recipe that works for you (mine is straight out of Betty Crocker), and know that your shortening or butter or whatever fat you use (lard is best according to grandma and I can't argue with that!) has to be cold and it has to be incorporated into little pea size lumps in the flour. If you can remember that, you can make pie crust.

 The problem is, there is always pie crust left over. I hate wasting all those good ingredients, so I squish the trimmings all together, roll them out and would usually cut them up, brush them with egg wash and then sugar and cinnamon. Last fall we found this set of adorable pie crust leaf cutters at Williams-Sonoma. They were ridiculous price and we wistfully passed them up. I went back after Thanksgiving and they were marked way down. I snatched them up and used them as a stocking stuffer for Earl last Christmas. As I was making pie crust last week I remembered them and pulled them out. They are so perfect for Autumn!

They were adorable and since I had made an all butter crust that week they were flakey and flavorful too. I also made a batch of lemon curd and I spooned a little on top for a treat :>)  If you make pie, remember it's easy, making some cute cinnamon sugar treats is a great way to not waste the leftover pie crust. These would even be fun in a cellophane bag with a small jar of jam for a gift!
What is your favorite thing to bake in the fall?

A little Autumn Decorating

Well it's been one of those weeks! I've had a lot of cooking and baking to do starting with the weekend with a friend in need and a run to the hospital to feed 20+ friends and family who had spent the day there, then Monday a mission of mercy to take home made chicken soup and all the fixin's to a daughter and son in love who were down with bronchitis. I have missed posting but it's more important to take care of people than to talk about my decorating right?

And speaking of decorating, here is a sneak peek of the new office. I'll do a full reveal some time next week when I have time to move the crap stuff off the desk and style it up pretty. ;>)

I had a chance to run to the farmers market this perfect fall morning. Temps in the low 60's and sunshine so bright it was too warm for the sweatshirt I was wearing. I loaded up on some items for the front porch but since I don't have time to arrange the porch today I set everything out by the shed.

 I can't decide if the shed door is "delightfully chippy" or in need of a good coat of paint. I'm leaning toward the paint quite frankly. I like my outbuildings well kept.  I'm thinking Spring before I actually get it painted though. In the meantime I will enjoy how "delightfully chippy" it is and let it be.

 Well, that's all I have time for, today is baking day. I have crusts to bake and fillings to chill, and tomorrow will be pie day again. Lemon meringue to be exact. I love lemon meringue. I'm thinking another "test pie" is in order :>P

Have a great day!

Friday is Pie Day

What a great discussion we had about blogging! I hope some of you came away encouraged that you don't have to be making money in order to have a great blog that you can enjoy sharing.  Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way belittling any of the women who do this professionally or take ads. Not at all! I think it's a wonderful thing to be able to work from home and love what you do, and girlfriends, of someone comes knocking on my blog door offering me a free sofa, I'm taking it! I am not crazy! At any rate, thanks for piping in and letting your thoughts be known, I love a good discussion:>)

This morning was spent baking pies to benefit one of the ministries in our church.  One of the best things about Autumn is being able to bake again! We don't have central air here at the cottage so I don't do much baking in the summer. I have been dying to bake with the cooler weather, but with Earl and I both trying to eat low carb it is hard to justify.  So I found a way to make the house smell great and still not eat it all.  I'm selling the pies and donating some of the profits to one of the ministries. Win, win. I will say we broke down and demolished a 8 inch "test pie" yesterday.  Yes. I made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure the recipe was a good one. Moving on.

 I had to take a photo this morning of my counters covered in the pie mess.  The sun was streaming through the open window in my little kitchen and I couldn't thnk of anywhere else I would rather be at that moment :>)

 This week's pie is Apple Raspberry crumble.  With Raspberries in season and apples on sale it seemed like a good choice. 

Whipped cream on top, L♥ve!

 

Apple Raspberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients

• Your favorite home made pie crust

Filling

• 6 cups thinly sliced and peeled tart apples
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/3 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss all of the filling ingredients together and pile it into the pie plate. Cut the butter into the topping ingredients until it makes small crumbles and spread the topping evenly across the top of the pie.

Bake @ 375 degrees for 50- 55 minutes. Easy as pie!

 

I'll be sharing a different pie every Friday for a while, do you bake pies? What is your favorite?