Recipes: Homemade Apple Pie

One of the things I knew I would do with this blog is post recipes.  I am pretty well known for being a good cook and I am especially gifted with desserts... probably because I have such a big sweet tooth.  In our house, I am the one that does the cooking.... mostly because this is one skill my husband doesn't have and I am a picky eater.  I would rather go hungry than eat something I don't like (which is a real problem for me and having to eat Army food).  Anyway, I am not one of those women that demands that my husband cooks and then complain because he makes something I don't like.  So we have a deal, I cook and then I don't complain.  If I want a certain type of food, then that's what I make.  (My husband has gotten pretty handy with the grill though, I must say).  

So, since I always cook, I have accumulated a lot of recipes.  And I am pretty good at tailoring them to my own tastes. I am sure this will be the first recipe of many...

This is my favorite homemade apple pie recipe.  I am not great at making it pretty, but my husband and neighbors were very happy with the results.

IngredientsPastry:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) Salt
• 10 tablespoon(s) Cold Butter Or Margarine, cut up
• 6 tablespoon(s) Vegetable Shortening
• 6 1/2 tablespoon(s) Ice Water

Apple Filling:

• 2/3 cup(s) Sugar
• 1/3 cup(s) Cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) Salt
• 3 1/2 pound(s) Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, And/Or Braeburn Apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 16 wedges
• 1 tablespoon(s) Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoon(s) Butter Or Margarine, cut up
• 1 large Egg White, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon(s) Sugar

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Directions

1. To prepare pastry: In food processor with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until large moist crumbs just begin to form.
2. Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (If chilled overnight, let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.)
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cookie sheet on rack in lower third of preheating oven to bake pie on later. To prepare apple filling: In large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat evenly.
4. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll larger disk of dough into 12-inch round. Ease dough into 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate. Gently press dough against bottom and up side of plate without stretching. Trim dough edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust; dot with butter.
5. Roll remaining disk for top crust into 12-inch round. Center round over filling in bottom crust. Trim pastry edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold overhang under; bring up over pie-plate rim and pinch to form stand-up edge, then make decorative edge. Brush crust with some egg white. Reroll trimmings. With knife or cookie cutters, cut out apple and/or leaf shapes; arrange on pie. Cut short slashes in round to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush cutouts with egg white, then sprinkle crust and cutouts with sugar.
6. Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife through slits in crust. To prevent over-browning, cover pie loosely with tent of foil after 40 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack 3 hours to serve warm. Or cool completely to serve later.