Since I am unaware of this heavenly place, here I live, in Minnesota, where I get to live this glory but for thirty days or so. So this is the month that I make pie. I have never tried to bake and freeze pie, so I could enjoy a bite of October in mid January, I just bake it and eat it. Hopefully with family and friends.
You will notice in the photos of my recipe cards, I don't exactly follow my own instructions. The instructions I typed herein are what I do, now, after using these cards for 16 years!
I have two versions of crusts that I bake with. The following recipe I got from my Aunt Linda when Stella was young. Linda described it as "forgiving" for novice (child) pie bakers. I still find I rely on its forgiving nature! You can roll it out a couple times if needed and it still tastes great! You can also freeze it in balls or in a pie tin to pull out and use.
Makes 4 crusts
Mix together:
4 scant cups of flour
2 tsp. salt
1 T. Sugar
Cut in with pastry cutter or fork
1 and 3/4 c. Butter
Beat together
1 egg
1/2 c. Water
1 T. Vinegar
Combine all ingredients, split in half and refrigerate 1/2 hour. Roll out. Don't be afraid to handle the dough! Store in fridge for up to three days, freeze indefinitely.
Try not to add too much excess flour, a pastry cloth and rolling pin sleeve can help!
The other is Pillsburg All~Ready pie crusts. Seriously good and fast. Never make the mistake of saving a few cents and buying the off brand of store brand. They are hard to use and don't bake well.
Once I tried to make pie using the "Americas Test Kitchen" methods of par baking crusts and pre- cooking and cooling apples to get them into a stable pectin state in order to prevent falling or soggy crusts and a gap between the crust and apples...God forbid. It took me about six hours to bake a pie and I decided that I could live with a messy pie. If I ever enter into a State Fair baking contest, I will work on my skill level. For now, if the pie is less than perfect looking, I follow the advice of my friend Ruth, "just cover it up with ice cream!"
I think "good pie" is highly subjective. Here is my pie recipe. I made it up, and wrote it down. If you like a tart, sort of gooey, spice filled pastry concoction that ends up looking like cobbler in a bowl...try it!
I use the Pampered Chef Deep Dish stoneware pie pan. If you use a smaller pie tin, use less apples. You might be able to make two standard 8" pies with this same recipe.
9-10 c. peeled, cored and sliced apples. I use Haralson, Cortland, Macintosh (only if I need pie out of season will I use Granny Smith)
Mix together
1 c. Granulated sugar
1/3 c. Flour
1 T. Cinnamon
Dash of salt, nutmeg, mace, allspice and clove
Coat apples with dry mixture then drizzle 2 T. Melted butter and 2 T. Lemon juice (fresh or fake will do)
Fill pie crust and cover with second crust. Vent and flute and add egg wash if desired. I make a tin foil crust edge cover and bake at 350 for about 20 min. with the crust edge covered. I remove the cover and continue baking for 20-40 minutes. I use a cake tester to make sure the apples are done.
Let cool for as long as you can and serve up with ice cream. If your pie is a mess....use more ice cream!
