Apple pie fixes all.....

There's a reason for the saying 'easy as apple pie'... it is easy.

Apple pie is easy comfort, for me anyhow. I don't have much of a sweet-tooth and I don't much care for desserts in general unless it's peach cobbler or apple pie and since Thanksgiving was not long ago (here in Canada) an apple pie was, as always, on the menu. Thanksgiving is usually my top favourite dinner of the year but this year it was really tough for me emotionally with both sides of our family falling further apart and in wanting just to fully pass it over I only succeeded in fully passing my own joy of Thanksgiving over... which is why I am thinking I might join in on the upcoming American Thanksgiving for a quiet and personal do-over even if it's only for an excuse to let an apple pie once more fix all.

Now, apple pie is very simple to make but at one time I had never before made a pie and I didn't know how to even begin. My mom did a LOT of cooking and baking with us as kids and after only ONE time of having my niece and nephew over to bake cupcakes I gained more respect for my mom having the patience and willingness to teach us in the kitchen by doing than I could have imagined; one time of cleaning up after cooking with kids was more than enough for me! Anyhow, for all the baking my mom did with us as kids, she never did teach me to make a pie... maybe because she just didn't often make pies, only at Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas and once when I asked for a pie instead of a cake for my birthday one year. I absolutely LOVED coming home from school on the rare occasions my mom had made a pie because she had always saved me a delicious hunk of raw pie dough, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and waiting in the refrigerator. I love pie dough and cookie dough so after school snacks on pie day were Heavenly!

So after I had married and moved away from home and decided I wanted to make an apple pie, I didn't have a clue! I was pretty sure I could figure out the filling part easily enough but I called my mom and asked her if she would teach me how to make pie crust and of course she was more than willing to help me. I learn best by actually doing and so as my mom explained, I did... and I learned. I figure I'm not the only person in the world who at one time didn't know how to make a pie, even easy as it is, so I thought I would share my apple pie recipe and how I bring it all together.

Sometimes to add just an extra slice of sweetness to a beautiful holiday, sometimes simply to soothe a hurting soul and sometimes just to fix all when I'm not even quite sure what the burden truly is... apple pie always takes me home.


Apple Pie Plain'n'Simple

Pie Crust Ingredients: (makes enough for 2 pies)

5 1/2  cups  Flour (all purpose)
1         tsp    Salt
2         tsp    Brown Sugar
1         tsp    Baking Powder
1         lb      Tenderflake Lard
2         tsp    Vinegar
1         lg      Egg
                    Water (COLD) - approximately 1 cup

Step one:

In a one-cup-measure, combine the vinegar and egg with a fork then add enough COLD water to fill to ONE CUP. Give it a quick mix to combine with the fork and set it aside in the refrigerator to keep cold until needed.

It looks like it's filled past the 1 cup mark but trust me, it wasn't...
it's just the angle I messed the picture up at.

Step two:

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, salt, brown sugar and baking powder.

I just give the dry ingredients a quick mix with the pastry cutter because
I'm too lazy to wash an extra spoon...



Step three:

Cut in the lard with a pastry cutter, or you an use two knives or a fork if you don't have a pastry cutter, it'll still be just fine!

I always cut the lard into 1" cubes before adding to the dry mix.

Cutting the lard in until nice and pebbly!

Once the mixture is pebbly, I like to give it a quick work-through with my hands
just to make sure there are no big lumps and that all is well becoming one!

Step four:

Mix the cold liquid into the lard mixture and work QUICKLY while trying NOT to touch the dough with your hands too much! I just use the fork I used in the liquid to quickly mix the dough together and as soon as all is moistened enough to stick together it's basically done... this is the point where I use my hands to pull it all together into a ball; I don't 'knead' it together but just pull and quickly press it together. Here is a quick video to show what I mean...

Step five:

Wrap and chill the dough at least 6 hours... I generally just prepare the dough the day before I plan to make the actual pie so it gets a proper overnight chilling.

I always divide the dough into four and chill separately because it's just easier to
deal with the sections one at a time. If I am only making one pie, I chill all the dough
overnight before freezing then vacuum-sealing two sections to keep frozen until
the next time I need pie dough at the ready.

And now... on to making the actual pie!

Before I prepare the pie filling, I like to roll out the crust so once the filling is mixed I have everything ready to go for quick pie-put-together-ness.

**Rolling out the pie dough is super easy and messless with the help of parchment paper but if you don't have parchment on-hand, a criss-cross of plastic wrap works, too... you just have to lift and relay the plastic wrap after each roll'n'turn.**

One dough round between two parchments... the parchment is slippery to work
with so I always just pull a corner section over the counter edge, lean against the
corner with my hip and roll away from me while turning the whole shebang as needed.

Keep turning and rolling until you are certain it will be a large enough round
to cover the waiting pie plate... with a little extra around the edges.

Do the same for the second crust then pop both rolled rounds into
the refrigerator to keep chilled.

*Once rolled, place both rounds back in the refrigerator to keep chilled until needed.*


Filling Ingredients:

9                      Spartan Apples (large ones)
1 1/2     Tbsp    Flour (+ a little extra for sprinkling pie plate bottom)
1/4(+)   cup      Sugar (approximately - depending on apple sweetness  + extra for pie top)
1           pinch   Salt
1/2        tsp       Cinnamon
1           dash     Nutmeg
1/2        tsp       Lemon Juice
3           pats      Butter


Step one:

In a large mixing bowl ( I just use the same bowl I used for the crust), combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Sweetness is waitinnnggggg.......

Step two:

Peel the apples, rinsing each well with water after peeling to avoid discolouration before coring and slicing into the sweetness bowl.

Apples and peeler are ready to go! You can, of course, just peel the apples with a plain ol' paring knife but my Granny gave me this peeler 20 years ago and I love that I think of her with a smile every time I use it... memories are beautiful!

So I peeled and rinsed 11 apples... but they were SOOOOO good that the boys
and I shared two of them for a snack before they even had a chance to
make a name for themselves in the pie... that why the recipe says 9 apples
but this picture shows 11! :/

I like to quarter, core, and slice the apples just roughly like so...
Make sure to get every little speck of core crunch OUT because even the slightest
hint of core material will ruin an entire pie!

My boys LOVE apples so how could we resist stealing from the pie??
There was still totally enough apples for the pie!

Step three:

Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples and mix all the filling ingredients together well.

Let the mixture set for a few minutes while readying the bottom crust into the pie plate... once set for a minute or two give the apples another mix and taste for sweetness perfection; if it needs more sugar just sprinkle a little more over in 1 Tbsp increments until you are happy with the taste. I ended up adding an extra 2 Tbsp of sugar and I also sprinkled about another 1/2 tsp of cinnamon over the above recipe measurements before this pie filling became perfection! It really depends on the type and sweetness of the apples you are using so don't be afraid to use your own taste judgement!

Just trust your own taste judgement on this one... you'll know when it's gonna be good!

Step four:

Lightly sprinkle bottom of pie plate with flour. Gently line the pie plate with one of your rolled out crust rounds, pressing it carefully into the bottom edges and lightly against the plate sides... work quickly but gently to avoid tears.

Sprinkle a little more flour over the crust (bottom only, NOT up the side edges).

Then gently turn the apples into the the crusted pie plate.

I forgot to take a picture but once the pie plate is lined with the bottom crust, I like
to trim the dough with kitchen shears... about 1/2" out from the plate edge.



Step five:

Top with butter pats... they don't have to be exact 'pats' I just slice off slices.

Trimmed, filled and all buttered up!

Step six:

Time to put on the top layer! Before I add the top crust, I cut three small 'V's' in the centre of the crust, but you can do whatever, just cut a hole or a few slices... it just needs a little vent to let the air escape while baking. Then just lay the crust over the prepped and filled base.

I use a paring knife to cut the slits and then lay the top crust carefully over all.

Step seven:

Time to close! I find I get the best crust seal by pressing the bottom edge gently into the underside of the top crust before folding the top edge over the 'pressed connection' then tucking down and under the top edge of the pie plate... Sorry, I made that sound far more confusing than it is!

*I've never had a 'bubble-over' with prepping the edges this way but if you happen to have one, just throw a piece of foil on the rack below the pie to catch the drippings... shiny side toward the pie bottom.*

Lift and press...

.....fold and tuck!

Step eight:

Now just flute'n'sugar that pie, Honey Bunch!!

It doesn't have to be perfect, the crust just has to be fully and firmly closed.
My pies are never pretty, but they always taste good.

Edges pressed and waiting for the sugar dust!

Sprinkle with sugar to cover then lift the air vents slightly to make sure they're working!

Step nine:

Time to Bake!!!

Pop the pie into pre-heated 425° oven. (I  usually start the oven just before I start putting on the top crust layer)

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes.

**After the 15 minutes, turn oven down to 375° and continue baking until done... this pie was done after baking for 35 minutes at 375° but depending on individual ovens it could either be a little longer or a little shorter cooking time.

I find it best to use clear glass pie plates so it's easy to see that the full bottom crust is lightly golden-browned just as the top is.  If you find that the top and edges are browning a little too much while the bottom still needs to goldify a little, just lay a piece of tinfoil lightly over the top... dull side facing the pie to avoid burnt edges while the base fully cooks.


Step ten:

Remove from oven and cool on cooling racks. I generally let the pie set for at least four hours before cutting into it so everything has a chance to mellow together for a good binding set. If you know you won't be able to wait, you can always just make one or two little mason jar single-serving pies alongside the main pie as you go... they cook a little faster and cool a LOT faster; I'll admit I do this often and I use the small, wide mouth jars which work perfectly!

See, not so pretty, the edges fell but big deal...
the deliciousness will still be there, I promise!

As long as you can see a good, light golden colouring on top, bottom
and edges... it's goldenly done!

Also, you'll be able to see the thickened juices bubbling up from the v-vents
to know it's ready on the inside.

Time to slice and enjoy!!!!!

Because I roll the crust between parchment rather than on a floured surface,
 I have never had a first slice come out anything but perfect like this. Sometimes
a crust will fall apart if it has too much flour from the rolling step but if you  prefer
to roll with flour, just go lightly and it should hold together just fine!

Light, flaky, golden crust with a perfectly cinnamony-sweetened filling... apples not too soft yet not too firm.
Just the comfort I needed to help settle my soul.

I hope that if you decide to try to make a pie, it turns out as delicious as this one did! I know it seems like a lot of fuss with the way I post so many steps and pictures but I really just try to show all the steps as exactly as I can just in case someone reading this is like me and needs to learn by being shown. Now, I'd like to know what your fix-all comfort dessert is... Please, share with us in the comments section!!