First Pie of Fall 2013

It's here, my friends! The first pie of the season. I don't know if pie is as big a deal in your house as it is in mine, but my husband would take pie over almost any other dessert. Except maybe ice cream. Preferably pie with ice cream. 

Today I finally had time to stay home and get some things done. Lots of cleaning and scrubbing...and a little bit of pie making. I realized I needed to make this a priority when my husband kept bring home bags of Paula Red apples. I think we were up to 5 bags, not including the two bags the kids already ate. Hey, I can take a hint. 

I modified the Frozen Apple Pie Filling recipe just a bit to allow for what I had on hand. That recipe continues to receive more hits than any other on my blog, so why mess with a good thing?

Leni's Notes:

~Original recipe uses Granny Smith, which are very tart, so adjust your sugar measurement for the sweetness of the particular apples you are using. Granny's really are my favorite pie apple, but they are a later fall apple, so I'll have to wait a bit for them.

~I continue my love/hate relationship with pie crust. I need to make peace with it! For this one, I used an oil crust, which always gets rave reviews from hubster. Very flaky crust. Recipe included at the end of the post. 

~If you're doing deep dish pie, add 1/4 to 1/2 extra pie crust. You can always make cinnamon roll-ups with any extra! That was my favorite part of my mom or grandma making pie when I was a kid.

~As you may be able to see from the picture, the pie came out nice and tall. It fell as it cooled. Still wonderful, but if you're looking for an impressive height, I'd suggest sticking to the Granny Smith which hold their shape pretty well. 

~We like deep dish pie, so all of my recipes reflect that. If you're using a regular pie pan, cut way back on the amount of apples you use!

~Don't forget the vanilla ice cream!

Pie Filling Ingredients:

3/4 C raw sugar 

1/4 C flour 

1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg 

9 C Paula Red apples, peeled and sliced a bit thick

2 Tbls lemon juice
 2 Tbls butter cut into chunks

Instructions:

~Preheat oven to 350.

~Find a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Bowl needs to be just a bit bigger than all the ingredients, so there's room to shake them up.

~Place sugar, flour and spices in bowl.

~Place apple slices in the bowl, cover tightly and shake to coat. Make sure to turn it upside down a couple of times.

~Remove lid carefully, add butter and lemon juice.

~Recover, continue to shake and turn bowl until everything is evenly distributed.

~Remove lid carefully again, there will be liquid on the lid.

~Place filling in prepared pie crust.

~Place top crust on pie, sealing the edges and cutting a vent hold in the top of the pie.

~Place pie on a cookie sheet or pie pan to catch spills.

~Bake at 350 for about one hour. 

~Check for a slightly browned top crust, and if the vent is big enough, you can check to see that the apples are done.

~Remove from oven, and let cool completely before serving.

Oil Pie Crust Ingredients:

2 1/4 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C cooking oil

1/3 C cold milk

Instructions:

~Mix the dry ingredients in bowl.

~Pour the wet ingredients in all at once, mix just until you can form into two balls.

~Divide into two discs, one having 2/3 of the dough, one having 1/3.

~Flatten the larger ball into a disc, and place between two pieces of wax paper.

~Roll out the dough, flipping it over if need be to straighten out the wax paper.

~Peel off top layer, place crust in the pan, and carefully peel off the second layer of wax paper.

~Repeat the process with the smaller ball for the top disk. 

The crust recipe as written was just barely enough for a deep dish pie, and I had to roll it very thin. 

Adjust accordingly.

Blessings from my apple-filled home to yours,

Leni