A few Apple Pie history tidbits:
- Apple pie has been around as early as the mid 14th century. One recipe of the time called for apples, pears, figs, raisins and spices.
- The early American colonists brought young trees from Europe, had to wait for their young apple orchards to reach maturity, and even then they used the apples primarily for cider. Pies were usually made with meat, not fruit. But in the mid 18th century Americans finally were making their apples into pies.
- In the 18th century, American pioneers on the trails made pies from crackers and spices in the absence of apples, and were called “mock apple pies”. These were also eaten during the depression of the 1930s.
- Today, apples are plentiful, and apple pie is a favorite not just for Thanksgiving, but year-round.
Time to make a pie. This recipe makes a deep dish 10 inch pie. Your pie plate should measure 10 X 1 1/2 inches.
Pastry Ingredients:
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8-10 tablespoons of water
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash of salt
- 8 cups sliced cooking apples
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Directions for Pastry:
Put the shortening and salt in a mixing bowl with the flour.
Mix with a fork or pastry blender until it looks like this:
Add water, a couple tablespoons at a time,
and stir with a fork until it looks like this:
Form into a uniform mound with the fork, and cut roughly in half with one half bigger than the other.
Take the larger half, and roll into a ball, coat with flour, and place on a piece of wax paper.
With your hand, press the ball down into a flying saucer shape.
Place another sheet of wax paper on top, and then roll out the pie crust with a rolling pin.
Using the flat of your hands on the pin, and starting at the halfway point on the crust, roll the pin towards you to the edge of the crust(not over the edge), and then turn the crust 1/4 turn. Roll again and turn. Keep rolling until it looks like this and is about 12 inches in diameter. This will be the bottom crust.
Using the steps above, roll out the remainder of the crust, only roll it out a little smaller than the bottom crust. This will be the top crust.
Now put both crusts in the fridge to cool off.
Directions For Filling:
Peel, core and slice your apples until you have 8 cups. I used to do this with a peeler and knife, until about 10 years ago when I bought this baby:
Put the apple on the prongs:
Turn the crank and the apple is peeled,
spiral sliced,
and cored,
and look how pretty a job it does.
All you have to do is slice the apple in half,
and you’ll have all these perfect slices.
I got my apple peeler/slicer/corer from Pampered Chef. Click here. (This is not a paid endorsement, yadda yadda…)
Put the 8 cups of sliced apples in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dash of salt. (I first mixed them all together in a small bowl)
Add the flour,
and then toss the apples with a large mixing spoon to coat well with the dry ingredients.
Remove the pastry from the fridge. Peel the top layer of wax paper off the bottom crust, and flip the crust over onto the pie dish.
Gently peel off the remaining layer of wax paper.
Gently ease the crust down into the dish by pulling the sides away from the dish and letting gravity do the rest. If you get a tear, just press the 2 edges of the tear together to mend.
Pour the filling into the crust.
Gently form apples into a mound.
Peel top layer of wax paper from top crust, and then turn the crust over onto the pie. Gently remove remaining wax paper.
Roll the edges of the 2 crusts under and press down gently onto the edge of the pie plate.
Crimp the edge to form a pretty seal.
Pierce the top crust with a wet fork to vent.
Sprinkle with some sugar.
Place pie in your preheated 425 degree oven.
See the oven thermometer there on the left? I’ve used a total of 5 ovens in my life, and not a one of them has been accurate. Get yourself one of these babies, and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Bake 40 – 45 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, put a ring of foil over the crust edge. This will prevent it from over-browning.
When done, remove pie from oven, and let cool. This recipe makes a nice deep pie.
Serve it up, and grab a fork.
Top with whipped cream if you like, and enjoy!
Source: Window On The Prairie
