Saturday, September 24, 2011

mmmm apple pie!

Yesterday was the first official day of fall.  In these parts it is like someone flipped a switch, and all of a sudden the smells and coolness of the season was upon us.  One of my neighbours came by with an armload of apples from her tree (the ones that the bears didn't manage to eat).  I decided that we would make pie - all from scratch. 

I used to do this years ago, I always made my own crusts and used local apples.  They are the best this time of year, and if you know someone with a tree, even better.  Even the dented, bruised or partially worm (or bear) eaten apples can still be used.  Not that I have ever used a bear eaten apple...

As I was cruising the Pioneer Woman's website awhile ago I bookmarked a pie tutorial that Pam did.  This was a great step by step on how to make the perfect crust.  There were some great tips that I had never tried before, and this pie was one of the best I have made. 

Next up was the filling, so I peeled and sliced some apples, and made a cinnamon/sugar mix to go with it (recipe at the end of the post). 

I followed the directions for the crust and baking the pie from the tutorial above.  The tip about covering the whole pie in foil after it had browned was a great one, it worked beautifully. 


I would suggest you follow the tutorial, and then when it comes time to do the filling, use the following recipe.  It did turn out a bit sweet for me, but you could always alter the sugar.  Another great tip from Pam was to add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the top of the filling before you put the top pie crust on.  Not so great for the hips, but ohhhhh it tasted amazing.

Apple Pie Filling:

2 lbs of peeled and sliced apples (6-10 apples depending on size)

Sugar Mixture
1/4 cup of packed, light brown sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

Add the sugar mixture to the apples and stir until coated.

No comments: