Comfy Cuisine

Simple, Delicious & Flaky Home-Made Apple Pie March 8, 2010

Just this very weekend, my girlfriend and I got to talking about the movie “Apple Pie”. One thing led to another, and I said to myself “I’ve been in USA for 6 years, and I have never made apple pie”. This was unacceptable. It couldn’t be that hard, and plus, at that moment, I had the biggest craving for a flaky and sweet apple pie. Too bad it was 1:00 AM. I closed my eyes and hoped for the morning to arrive.

I went on a little shopping spree and purchased myself a  9 inch pie dish from Wal-Mart. This was my first attempt at making an apple pie, and I must say it was a success, so I hope this motivates all of you out there who have never baked before to go for it. Enjoy!

You will need for Piecrust

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
6 tablespoons cold water, plus 5 tablespoons cold water

You will need for Filling

3 Granny Smith & 3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1 tablespoon orange juice (fresh squeezed)
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (the kind that has an almost sticky texture)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg
Salt

1. Start by sifting the 2 cups of flour into a large bowl

2. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and sugar to the bowl

3. Separate 2/3 cup of shortening in a small dish

4. Put the shortening into the bowl, but put it in small pieces at a time. Then take 2 knives and cut the shortening into even smaller pieces in the bowl. Make sure not to over-work the mixture. A flaky pie crust is only possible when you do not over-mix

5. Once the shortening pieces are the size of peanuts, you can stop. It should look like this

6. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice cold water in the bowl. Fluff and mix slowly. Do not over mix! It is not supposed to look like bread dough

7. Add another 5 tablespoons of ice cold water, and mix slowly. You can tell if it is ready by taking a small sample of the mixture in your hand. If it bonds together, and does not fall apart, it is ready. The bond does not have to be extremely solid, as long as it binds together, it should be fine

8. Separate half of the dough, and roll it into a ball in your hand. Put it on a piece of cling wrap

9. Wrap both halves of the dough in cling wrap as shown. Flatten it, because we will roll it with a rolling pin. It should rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour

10. Meanwhile, peel, core and slice your apples

11. Place apples into a large bowl. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of lemon and orange juice into the bowl

12. In a separate small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

13. Mix the dry ingredients in the small bowl, and transfer them to the bowl with the apples in it. Mix, until you get something that looks like this

14. Put a thin layer of butter on your pie dish

15. Once your pie dough has rested for an hour or more, take them out of the fridge. Unwrap the dough, but do not discard the cling wrap. Put another cling wrap on top of the dough, and roll with a rolling pin until 12 inches in diameter

16. Place the 12 inch crust into your pie dish

17. Pinch the corners and make sure they conform to the outline of your pie dish

18. Fill your pie dish with the apple filling

19. Put 1 tablespoon of butter on top of the apples, spreading as evenly as you can

20. Roll the other piece of dough, until about 10 inches in diameter, and place on top of the pie dish

21. Use a fork to seal the sides of the pie

22. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl, and add a dash of salt. Use a brush to brush the mixture onto the pie. Do not use the whole thing! Just coat a thin layer on the pie. Also, mix some cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on the top

23. Cut 3 air vents in the middle of the pie

24. Put a piece of foil on top of the pie to prevent over-browning in the oven. Place in a 400F oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 25 minutes

25. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes

26. Slice and serve warm with a scoop of ice-cream. Wow!