Apple Pie

7- 8 Granny Smith apples
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. Apple Jack liquor(optional)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Pie Crust

2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
12 tbsp. shortening
6 tbsp. ice water

Making the crust: Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and shortening using a pastry cutter. Add water and mix with hands until the dough comes together, but you can still see chunks of butter. Divide dough in half and form 2/ 5 inch disks. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and chill dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Make Filling:

1. Peel and core apples. Slice apples into uniform slices. Toss with lemon juice.
2. Combine flours, sugar and spices. Add to apples and toss.
3. Add vanilla and liquor.

When the dough is chilled, remove plastic wrap and on a well floured surface roll out one disk into a 10 inch circle. Transfer that circle to a 9 inch deep dish pie pan. Fill with apple filling piling apples high in the center. Scatter butter on top. Roll out top crust and place it carefully over the apples. Turn under edges sealing the crusts together. Flute the crust. Prick the crust with a fork and using a knife score the to decoratively. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of crust with milk or half and half. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles. Cool on a wire rack.

Chef’s note: It is not necessary to chill the dough. The dough will be sticky, but I drop my disks into my flour bin coating them with flour and then I roll them out on a piece of was paper.

Fluting For Fun

Fluting is not as difficult a it looks and once you practice you will get into a rhythm that you will actually enjoy and find fun. Flour your fingers well and simply place your thumb and fore finger of your right hand on the outside of the crust. Using the fore finger for you left hand place your hand over the pie and gently push the dough in and between the other two fingers. As you do this motion your hands together as if to connect them. Continue this into the next flute working towards your body and moving the pie in a counter clockwise motion. Really indent you flutes as when the pie bakes the appearance will change some.