Apple Pie Recipe

Here is my apple pie recipe, by request. The apple filling comes from a recipe I grew up with and the crust recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook (otherwise known as the cooking bible).

Perfect Apple Pie

6-8 tart, pared, cored and sliced apples (not too thin!)

3/4 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 Tbsp. butter

Slice the apples into a big bowl. If they lack tartness, sprinkle with about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour, spices and a dash of salt; mix into the apples. Line 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Fill with apple mixture; dot the top with butter. Adjust the top crust cutting slits to let steam escape - or a cute design of some kind; seal. Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until done. (I cover the edges with foil and take it off for the last 10 minutes to let it brown.)

Double-Crust Pie Dough 

2 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

8 Tbsp. vegetable shorening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen in stick form until firm - if you use regular butter, decrease the salt to 1/2 tsp.

6-8 Tbsp. ice water

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add chilled shortening and press into the flour, using a fork. Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater into the flour mixture, then cut the mixture together, using two butter knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 6 Tbsp. of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatua until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until it does. Divide the dough into two even pieces and flatten each into a 4- inch disk. Wrap the disks tightlyy in plactic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it out and fitting it into a pie plate. (I like to roll it out between two sheets of wax paper.)