APPLE PIE

There is nothing more wonderful than the smell of apple pie when it is baking in the oven…the kitchen, perhaps the entire house, is filled with the overwhelming aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and apples, inviting anyone and everyone to enjoy the finished pastry.

Traditionally, the best apples for making apple pie are tart, firm and varieties that meld well with the flavors imparted during the maceration process (read on).  My mother-in-law, Elizabeth Marshall, insisted (and rightfully so) that the best apple for apple pie is the Northern Spy.  Unfortunately for me, this apple is only available for a short window of opportunity in the fall.  I get by with Granny Smith apples.

If you are going to make the effort to make an apple pie, do several at a time and freeze two or three (unbaked) after carefully wrapping in plastic wrap (or a freezer pie box).  This ensures that you have a beautiful dessert just waiting in the freezer for drop-in company.

This recipe is one I’ve developed over the years and includes a process which gives the apples ample time to take on the flavor of the spices used in the completed pie.  I also prefer (I know I sound like a broken record) Butter Crisco®

for both the pie crust and the filling.  (See previous blog entry to learn how to make pie dough).   For this particular pie, you need a minimum of twelve apples and two crusts (ready made crust is fine).

Preheat oven to 400° F

Filling:

You will need a large deep, ceramic bowl and a potato peeler.

 12 tart apples

1 lemon (at room temperature)
1 ½ tsp. of cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. of nutmeg plus freshly grated nutmeg (if you have it)
1 ½ tsp. of ginger
½ cup of melted Butter Crisco®
2 to 3 tbl. of black strap molasses

Peel, core and slice apples.  Put in bottom of the bowl with the juice of one lemon and the remainder of the ingredients.  Stir occasionally.  Allow the apples to set at room temperature for at least an hour or two.  The longer you allow the apple slices to steep in the liquid, the better the filling will taste (the process of steeping fruit in a liquid is called maceration).

Assembly:

Take prepared brust and roll out one to two inches more than the circumference of your pie plate.  Put the dough in the pie plate.  Add the filling.  Dot with butter.  Top with second pie crust and crimp edges of the pie.  Brush the top crust with a little warm water using a pastry brush and sprinkle with granulated sugar (I use turbanado or bar sugar).    Bake for one hour or until knife inserted in pie is clean.