Apple Pie

Well I have made 2 apple pies this week and one apple cake. The pies did not last long at all. One was devoured at home in about a day and the other at work in a few hours!!!! This is a basic apple pie. It is pretty simple to make (even for me with my "fear" of making a pie crust) and is really good. I don't care much for raisins and also left out the chopped walnuts the recipe calls for. I just like plain old apples in my pie!!! The recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book. It has lots of great recipes in it. I think I need to watch how many cook books I really need. I've bought a few new ones lately and find "reasons" why I need to have them. But all it takes is for me to see a really good recipe and picture and I am sold! I find lots of great books at thrift stores and yard sales. Found an old Home Economics Cookbook from 1963 that features only desserts. It has at least 500 (or more) dessert recipes and tons of variations for making chocolate cake, pound cake, carrot cake, etc. It was 90 cents! Now that is a buy! Do any of you buy older cookbooks? I find them really enjoyable to read and some of the old recipes are interesting! The first cookbooks I ever had were Doubleday Cookbooks, which is a two volume set from Doubleday Book Club. They were printed in 1975. I have used them hundreds of times and swear by them. Whenever I was confused as to what an ingredient was or a cooking term or anything that really pertained to cooking, I turned to these books and found my answer. I still have them and they are used, abused, dirty, have stains, folded pages and I love it!!! You know a cookbook is good if it is beaten up!!! Well here is the apple pie recipe......see what happens when I start talking cookbooks...I go on and on!!!!

1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust Pie

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (I used Fuji's)

1 tbs lemon juice (optional)

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins or chopped walnuts (optional, I used neither)

Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry; set aside.

If desired, sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add apples slices and, if desired, raisins or walnuts. Gently toss to coat.

Transfer apple mixture to pastry lined pie plate. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Cut slits in remaining pastry; place on filling and seal. Crimp edge as desired.

To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in 375F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Pastry for a Double Crust Pie

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

6 or 7 tablespoons cold water

In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time until all the dough is moistened. Divide in half. Form each half into ball.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 ball of dough. Roll from the center to the edge into a 12 inch circle.

To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll into a 9 inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate being careful not to stretch pastry. Transfer filling to pastry lined pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate.

Roll remaining dough into a 12 inch circle. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Place remaining pastry on filling; trim 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top of pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edges as desired. Bake as directed in individual recipes.

Note: I chilled my dough in freezer for 15 minutes before rolling out.