Mom’s Apple Pie

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Mom’s Apple Pie
Serves 10

Note: You will need a 10-inch pie plate and a double pie crust. Divide the dough into two equal size balls.

Tip: If the edge of the crust is browning too quickly, take strips of tin foil and cover just the edges, crimping the foil along the underside of the lipped edge. Additionally, I inevitably have some overspill with this pie, so I line the very bottom of the oven with a piece of foil to catch any drippings in the last minutes of baking. Cleaning the bottom of the oven without the protective foil is a nightmare!

Ingredients for a Basic Pie Crust:
2 ½ cups flour – stock
1 teaspoon salt – stock
1 teaspoon sugar – stock
2 sticks sweet butter (16 Tablespoons), sliced – stock
½ cup ice water

Filling Ingredients:
7 Granny Smith apples – $5.44
1 cup sugar – stock
½ Teaspoon cinnamon – stock
½ Teaspoon nutmeg – stock
1 Teaspoon lemon juice – stock
4 Tablespoons softened butter – stock
Grand Total Assuming Well-Stocked Pantry and Homemade Pie Dough: $5.44
Total Per Serving: $0.54

Pie Crust Directions:
1. Arm the food processor with its metal blade and pour in all of the Pie Crust ingredients, except the ice water. Press pulse for about 10 seconds or so, until the dry ingredients appear like coarse meal.

2. Slowly, through the feed tube, drizzle the iced water while simultaneously pressing the pulse button. This step is critical – don’t over mix the dough as it will quickly toughen. You want to “pulse” it just until it holds together.

3. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Separate into 2 equal-size amounts. With very gently pressure, first form the mixture into a ball, then using the flat of your hands press it into a flat disc. Remember, the less you handle and maul the pie dough, the flakier the result.

4. Wrap the plastic around the disc and refrigerate it for one hour. *(You can refrigerate it up to three days before or freeze it for a month. I often will double or quadruple the recipe, freezing several crusts at once so that I always have a supply for last minute pies.)

5. On a floured counter top roll out the first piece of dough and transfer it to a 10-inch pie dish. Trim excess dough to the edge of the dish. Save any scraps for cutting out decorative leaves for the top crust if you feel so inclined.

Filling Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut each quarter into approximately 1/8 inch slices.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Add the slices apples, tossing several times to coat

4. Pour the apple mixture into the prepared, 10- inch pie plate lined with dough. Dot the apples with some of the butter.

5. Roll out the next piece of dough large enough to have a one-inch over hang. Crimp the edges of the two doughs together. The pie needs a vent, so cut a small hole in the center of the crust. Cut four additional slits in a starburst fashion about an inch from the center hole. Lightly spread softened butter intermittently across the top and then sprinkle very lightly with sugar and cinnamon.

6. Bake for 1 hour until the insides are bubbling and the crust is golden.