Two Words ...

Ducks ... Row

 

 

 

 

Macintosh ? ... No

 

 

 

 

Empire ! ... Spice

 

 

 

 

Crimping ... Nice!

 

 

 

 

Crispy Topper ...

 

 

 

Show Stopper ...

Yesterday’s Apple Pie Filling

 

Filling Ingredients:

 

 

8 c. Empire apples, peeled and sliced in varying thicknesses

¾ c. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

⅛ tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 tbsp. Flour

3 tbsp. Butter, cut into pats

 

 

Crust Ingredients:

 

 

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

⅔ c. plus 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening

7 – 8 tbsp. ice cold water

 

Making the Pie:

 

1. Whisk the flour and salt together. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with two knives until the mix has tiny crumbles of shortening distributed throughout the flour.
2. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to bring a pie dough together.
3. When a shaggy dough ball forms, turn the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, scrap all the floury fragments from the bowl over the main dough ball. Gather the plastic wrap up and around the dough ball, smushing it together like clay to form a ball of dough.
4. Wrap snugly and chill for at least ½ hour.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 425° F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
6. While the dough chills, prepare the filling by combining all the ingredients except the butter.
7. Flour a cool rolling surface, and divide the chilled dough in half. Quickly smush it into a ball, using your hands. Flour the surface and roll out to form a circle large enough to line a 9 – inch pie plate.
8. Lay the bottom crust in, reflour the rolling surface and repeat the process to form the top crust.
9. Turn the pie filling into the pie shell, dot with the pats of butter, and use the ice water to dip your fingers and pat around the outer edge of the bottom crust.
10. Top the pie with the top crust, crimp a pretty edge. Brush with an egg white wash or spritz with a bit of oven spray and bake for 40 minutes.
11. Toward the end of bake time, keep an eye on the crust and cover with foil if the pie seems to be  over-browning.
12. For a pie that slices nicely, let the pie cool completely and then re-warm it gently in a 250 ° F oven for about 30 minutes.