APPLE PIE

Sometimes I don’t want to share a recipe cause it’s like, a family secret or something & then sometimes, I’m like… there are all these people in the world NOT enjoying this recipe… so then I share it. Since Thanksgiving is coming & people traditionally eat pie…. HERE’s my favorite.

You’re going to need NORTHERN SPIES. They are a late October apple & the best apples for a pie. I get mine at my local orchard, but my mom’s orchard doesn’t grow them – so do your research. THIS MAKES THE PIE. If you ABSOLUTELY cannot find Northern Spies, you can use Cortlands, but its just not the same.

This is a dutch style apple pie.. so you’re going to need a springform pan… typically this type of pan is used for cheesecake.

FIRST you’ll want to peel & cut your apples. I typically use around 7 apples. (8 cups when sliced) More or less depending on size. Slice the pieces as thin as you can. Once you have those babies peeled & sliced you’ll want to add…

For the apples:
1 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cups sugar

mix it up in the bowl so it looks like this:

NEXT you’ll want to make the bottom pastry of your pie. AKA the crust.

6 tablespoons cold butter cubed
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups flour
5 tablespoons ice water

Mix together until it’s a dough & Roll this sucker out and put it in the bottom of your spring form pan. It should look something like this:

I’m kind of a garbage roller & can never get it exactly even in all areas, so usually I end up doing the bottom a nice circle, and then putting the sides in by hand – small pieces at a time. Just make sure the thickness is even & there aren’t any holes in your dough & its not a million inches thick in any areas & it’ll be alright.

Now’s a good time to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

The topping is [the best] and worst part. You really need to have patience for this portion of the pie. This is a crumbly topping and you’ll need a pastry blender… if you don’t have one you can use two butter knives and criss cross them back and fourth in the bowl.

Topping
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
4 oz butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

You’ll want this mixture to look like sand. That is when you know its ready. Keep mixing and mixing until you feel like it was arm day at the gym, and then mix it more. It should look something like this:

NOW take your sand a little at a time and put it on top of the apples in your springform pan. I like to shake as much of the crumbly [sand] mixture down into the pie as possible. I also like to place my pie over foil on a baking sheet, because sometimes it will bubble out a little and make a mess in your oven. Foil is MUCH easier to clean.

BAKE the pie on 425 degrees for 15 minutes & then [leave the pie in there] turn your oven down and bake it for an additional 45 minutes on 350 degrees. [note that every oven is different] If your oven bakes quickly, you might want to put the 350 degree timer on for 35 minutes and keep checking every few minutes.

After a long wait & a lot of work, you should have a VERY delicious pie. I will be making mine Wednesday before Thanksgiving. If there is any extra, put it in the fridge.