When I was a kid we had this apple tree in our backyard. Every year my mother, sister and I would make pie after pie after pie. For about 2 weeks straight in the end of August, weeknights and weekends, we would make pie. One year we made 24. Needless to say, I don't ever make that many pies anymore. Having that many pies around might unleash Thunder Thighs: The Pie Reckoning .
But I do still enjoy making pie. Specifically apple. So when we were invited to dinner at the BF's Aunt's and the option of picking their huge garden grown apples was offered I jumped at the chance. And by that I mean I made the BF go pick some.
The recipe I used is a simple recipe that my mom drilled into me as a child.
Dough
5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 lb shortening
(I used butter.... and crisco.... cause that's what was in my apartment)
1 egg
2 TBSP white vinegar
Cold Water
Instructions:
- Measure out flour and salt into a large bowl. Mix.
- Cut in shortening until pea sized.
- Crack egg into a 1 cup liquid measure. Beat egg.
- Add vinegar to beaten egg.
- Add cold water to egg and vinegar mixture until 1 cup measure. Mix.
- Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture. Mix till a dough forms. (Add extra flour if dough is to sticky to handle)
Make enough for 3 pies (top and bottom).
Freezes well!
Pie Filling
7-8 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions:
Mix everything together! Let sit while you roll out the pie dough. Stir once more before filling pie.
Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden brown.
Future Apple Babies
Not even needing to look up the recipe gives me a feeling of mild pride, mixed with a sense of lost potential as a human recipe book. Anyway.
I managed to get some primo apple seeds out of the hugest apples so hopefully I will have a baby apple tree in the next couple months!
Cheers!
-Andrea
The Half-Assed Hobbyist