Apple Pie

Posted: March 23rd, 2010 | Jessie | | Tags: apple, Nana, pie | 5 Comments »

A few weeks ago Pat asked me why I don’t like pie.  I thought this was an odd question because I do like pie.  I actually like it a lot.  He pointed out that I haven’t made a pie the entire time I’ve known him.  At first I was skeptical.  I’ve know him for almost two years.  It didn’t seem possible that I haven’t made a pie for that long considering how often I bake, but he was right.  I realized I needed to make a pie soon to remedy this strange gap in my baking repertoire.

My Nana makes amazing apple pie, but I didn’t use her recipe.  She only uses shortening in her crust, but I wanted the extra flavor that butter provides.  I found this recipe on Epicurious.  It claims to be the “best ever”.  I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it is very good.  I definitely will use this in the future.

The number one reason I don’t make pie very often is that rolling out pie crust can be a big pain.  To try and combat this problem I bought this pie bag from the King Arthur Flour baking store.  Since I haven’t made a pie in such a long time it’s sat unused in my cupboard.  It actually works really well.  It completely eliminates the problem of your dough sticking to the counter.  And since the dough doesn’t stick you can turn it after every roll, so you actually get a round crust.

I used 4 gala apples and 3 granny smiths for the filling.  I love the taste of gala apples, but think they were a little too soft.  They got a bit soft and watery in the pie.  I also think I probably cooked it about 10 minutes longer than necessary.

The pie was so watery after I cut the first piece that I put a paper towel in the gap to soak up some of the liquid.  I was worried the bottom crust was going to turn to mush.  When Pat saw this he said, “Who are you, Cliff Huxtable?  You know this trick doesn’t work when there’s not frosting to cover the paper towel.”  I found it very funny.  This trick actually worked really well.  The pie tasted great for the next two days and wasn’t at all soggy.

Apple Pie

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

When I’m making crust I cut up my butter and shortening about 30 minutes before I begin the process and put the butter back in the fridge and the shortening in the freezer.  If your ingredients are really cold the process of making crust will be much easier.

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.  I left the flour/butter mixture in the food processor and blended it in there.  Add 5 7 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough clumps together. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

7 medium apples – be sure to choose apples that are firm
The juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of sugar (you should adjust the sugar depending on the apples you use)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Peel your apples and cut them into 1 inch by 2 inch slices.  Be careful not to cut the apples too small or they’ll turn to mush while you’re baking them.  After I cut each apple I squeeze some lemon juice over the apples to keep them from browning.  Add the sugar and spices right before you are ready to assemble your pie.  If you put the sugar on the apples too early it will make your filling too liquidy because the sugar draws the water from the apples.

Roll out your bottom crust and place in a 9 inch pie pan.  When placing the crust in the pan be careful not to stretch the dough.  Place the apples in the bottom crust.  Take 2 tbsp. of butter and put small bits of butter over the top of the apples.  Place the top crust on the pie.  Crimp the two crusts together.  Using a small knife cut 4 or 5 one inch cuts in the top crust.  This will allow steam to be released while baking.  Take a strip of aluminum foil and place around the edge of the crust.  This will prevent over browning of the edges.  Bake in a 350° oven for about 50 minutes.  After 30 minutes check and see if the top crust is getting too brown.  If so place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pie.  To check and see if the pie is done take a thin knife and slide it through one of the steam vents.  If the apples are soft your pie is done.

Allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting.

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