Apple Pie

I know it's been awhile since Thanksgiving 2014, but it's not too late to share a few things I baked and enjoyed with friends. 

Classic Apple Pie with homemade pie crust is hard to beat. Last Fall was a literal apple fest at our place, and it seemed fitting to have this pie. It looks messy because of my last-minute "improvisations", but it tastes pretty good.

Ingredients (serves 8):

Pie Crust (Following Ina Garten's recipe); makes enough to line the bottom and cover the top

1.  3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3. 1 tablespoon sugar
4. 1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
5. 6 -8 tablespoons ice water (about 1/2 cup)
6. 12 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter 

Slowly work the butter and shortening into the flour along with salt, and sugar until the butter is crumbled. Slowly add cold water and knead until the dough comes together. Divide the dough equally into 2 parts, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour. 

For the Filling:

1. 6 cups or 6 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5. 1 tablespoon lemon zest
6. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
7. 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8. pinch of salt

Toss the apples with lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugar, and all-purpose flour until evenly coated. 

Individually roll out the 2 portions of chilled dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch in thickness (and 1 inch wider than the pie pan). Press one portion of the rolled out dough in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan, covering the bottom and sides. Wrap the sides of the pan with a layer of aluminum foil to avoid the crust from over browning or burning

Pour in the apple filling. 

Cover the filling with the other rolled out dough and crimp and seal the edges. Cut 4 slits on top to let the steam escape while baking. 

Brush the top with some melted butter. Mix 1 tablespoon of brown sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Sprinkle/dust this on top of the pie

Preheat oven to 425 F. Bake for  45-50 minutes until crust is gently browned and the filling bubbles. 

Let cool and serve.

Note: I actually used brown sugar in my filling and the result was pretty good! The apple filling was caramely and bubbly