Friday, October 29, 2010

Nana's apple pie

Ready for the oven!

We all know, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I think a slice of pie will do the same for you! Here's my late Nana's apple pie recipe. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of sharp cheese (my favorite and my late Grampy's too).

If you think you would like to make a decorative crust you can use cookie cutters or purchase these cute little cutters from Williams Somoma - I know you'll love them, I do!!!

Ready to eat!


  • DOUBLE PIE CRUST

    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 cup well-chilled vegetable shortening (we use Crisco)
    • 4 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water

    1. BLEND flour and salt in medium mixing bowl.

    2. 2.
      CUT chilled shortening into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut in chilled shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.

    3. 3.
      SPRINKLE half the maximum recommended amount of ice cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.

    4. TIP
      Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.

    5. 4.
      SHAPE dough into a ball for single pie crust. Divide dough in two for double crust or double deep dish crust, one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten ball(s) into 1/2-inch thick round disk(s).

    6. TIP
      For ease in rolling, wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

    7. 5.
      ROLL dough (larger ball of dough for double crust pie) from center outward with steady pressure on a lightly floured work surface (or between two sheets of wax or parchment paper) into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate for the bottom crust. Transfer dough to pie plate by loosely rolling around rolling pin. Center the rolling pin over the pie plate, and then unroll, easing dough into pie plate.

    8. 6.
      For a SINGLE pie crust, trim edges of dough leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold edge under. Flute dough as desired. Bake according to specific recipe directions.

    9. 7.
      For a DOUBLE pie crust, roll larger disk for bottom crust, trimming edges of dough even with outer edge of pie plate. Fill unbaked pie crust according to recipe directions. Roll out smaller dough disk. Transfer dough carefully onto filled pie. Trim edges of dough leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold top edge under bottom crust. Press edges together to seal and flute as desired. Cut slits in top crust or prick with fork to vent steam. Bake according to specific recipe directions.

    10. Two Methods for Pre-baking Pie Crusts (Cream Pies)

    11. 1.
      Pre-baking without weights: Thoroughly prick bottom and sides of unbaked pie dough with fork (50 times) to prevent it from blistering or rising. Bake crust in lower third of oven, at 425°F, 10-12 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown.

    12. 2.
      Pre-baking with weights: Thoroughly prick bottom and sides of unbaked pie dough with fork (50 times) to prevent it from blistering or rising. Chill or freeze for 30 minutes. Line pie dough snugly with foil or parchment paper. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Reduce oven to 350°F. Bake 5-10 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown.







    1. APPLE PIE FILLING

      • 6 -8 medium Cortland apples
      • 3/4 cup sugar
      • 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
      • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
      • 1 tablespoon butter
      • 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

      • PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:
      PREPARE recipe for double crust pie. Roll out dough for bottom crust. Place in 9-inch pie plate. Press to fit without stretching dough. Trim even with pie plate. Do not bake.

    2. 2.
      HEAT oven to 400ºF.

    3. 3.
      PEEL, core and slice apples. Toss with sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour into unbaked pie crust; dot with butter. Cover with top crust; seal and flute edge. Brush with egg white. Cut slits for steam to escape.

    4. 4.
      ROLL additional crust to 1/8-inch thickness. With small 1/2-inch star cookie cutter, cut 20 to 25 stars. Place 1 star on rim of top crust; brush with egg white. Repeat until rim is covered.

    5. 5.
      COMBINE cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over crust. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until pie is golden brown and apples are tender.

    24 comments:

    1. Belleau Kitchen & Acorn Hollow: Thank you for your wonderful comments, unfortunately I had a glitch and I had to delete my post and re-post it! Using the cutters was really a lot of fun! I enjoy detail work - for some strange reason!

      ReplyDelete
    2. well i can't quite remember exactly what i posted .... but this pie looks stunning... you must have the patience of a saint although I can understand how you would enjoy doing this kind of thing... and I love the way it has all turned golden after cooking, like a pile of autumnal leaves... x

      ReplyDelete
    3. Mary,once again you have out done yourself. I do not have enough patience to do such detailed work. Martha Stewart has nothing on you!!!Just lovely.

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    4. how yummy! and it is beautiful. to pretty to eat.
      cathy

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    5. That is exquisite. You have the patience of a saint.

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    6. That pie crust is amazing - I made an apple pie recently, first one ever I think, but I didn't do near such a beautiful job of decorating it.

      ReplyDelete
    7. What beautiful idea for the crust! I have those cutters too! Thank you for the great idea and lovely recipe.

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    8. that is the cutest crust i ever saw...darling....

      i sure wish i was there for a piece of that pie...yum.....

      that was cute about Duke getting ready for Halloween too...

      Happy Halloween Weekend, my friend

      kary and teddy
      xxx

      ReplyDelete
    9. Would ya look at that!!! I'm smitten! Who raked up all those leaves for you :)?
      I'll bet I would live longer if I could eat a hunk of that! Yum.

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    10. Loving this- saving this recipe for sure!!!

      Love the blog, so glad you found mine too- which led me to yours :) Best!

      ReplyDelete
    11. My Nana made delicious pies too! Apple pie is my son's favorite, he has it every year for his birthday instead of cake! I am going to try and make your wonderful recipe this week, and I love the little leaves!

      Thanks so much for the link to the movie Mist about the sheepdog...I can't wait to watch it!

      Kat :)

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    12. So beautiful!!! I want that leaf cutter!

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    13. Looks really accomplished and beautiful.

      Well done!

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    14. What a pretty apple pie! I love how you made the top crust look like a pile of autumn leaves - such a great idea!

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    15. That is an impressive looking pie! Great instructions too! Just popping in to see your nice blog.

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    16. Hi,

      The pie looks real yumm>>:)

      Dr.Sameena@

      www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

      ReplyDelete
    17. Goodness me... that's an amazing leaf pile pie crust!!!!

      BTW the little silver leaves on my blog are already in my etsy shop... lots more to follow ;-)

      Celia
      x

      ReplyDelete
    18. that is a beautiful pie! i think i need to give it a try!

      ReplyDelete
    19. Wow - what a truly amazing pie - now thats a leaf pile I wouldnt mind clearing - especially with a fork full of ice cream!

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    20. that is just gorgeous, fun & tasty way of celebrating the season

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    21. What a beautiful pie! I love the leaf design. Very creative. The pie sounds delicious!

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    22. Hi lovely lady. I love your Nana's Apple Pie reripe ~~~I am going to make this for Thanksgiving Day ~~~Thanks so much and you have a Great Day.

      ReplyDelete
    23. Thanks for visiting my blog! You are so nice!! That apple pie should be in a magazine, I don't think I could do that, but I will be trying those yummy cupcakes! Your blog is just precious. I have a bishon, he doesn't shed either, a lot of my friends have cockapoos, they are just the cutest! I am your newest follower...

      ReplyDelete
    24. I have theose cookie cutters but I have never ever thought to put them all over the top. THis is the prettiest pie ever.

      ReplyDelete

    I'm thrilled you've stopped by and I always enjoy your comments! Thank you!