Let's Make an Apple Pie

 

As January ends and days are mostly snowy and frigid, I find that baking takes the winter chill out of the kitchen while the scent of cinnamon lightens the heart.   The local orchards are asleep but soon will awaken and bud out with the promise of wonderful fruit for our delicious, warm, homemade pies!

Following is a poem by American poet  Richard Wilbur
 who I believe still teaches at Amherst College 

 and lives in western Mass. 

Orchard Trees, January

 by Richard Wilbur

It's not the case, though some might wish it so

Who from a window watch the blizzard blow

White riot through their branches vague and stark,
That they keep snug beneath their pelted bark.

They take affliction in until it jells
To crystal ice between their frozen cells,

And each of them is inwardly a vault
Of jewels rigorous and free of fault,

Unglimpsed until in May it gently bears
A sudden crop of green-pronged solitaires.  

 

 

   I love making pies and my crusts are always made from scratch.

  I also love baking cookies.

  I just  learned of this adjustable rolling pin and can't wait to try it out!
 

Joseph Joseph rolling pin

($19.95)

  available through Amazon and other vendors
  ~ my order's already in~
  I think it'll be a big helper.
  The removable disks assuring the "just right" dough thickness 
for both pie dough and roll-out cookie recipes.

When making apple pies, I mix the peeled, cored sliced apples with 1-2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 cup natural organic agave nectar. 
  These are the only ingredients I use.

Personally, I like Macoun, Granny Smiths, Cortlands, or Golden Delicious.

  I always use at least 2 different types in my pies.

Use enough so you have a high mounded top 
 and I try to keep the apple slices thin and equal
 so they cook evenly.

Ella makes a great dough for her own pie

 

For my pie dough:
 I whisk 2 and 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour with a tsp of salt.

To this I cut in (with a pastry cutter) 1 stick of cold, cubed unsalted butter and 1/4 cup Crisco. 

(a lot of recipes use more butter but I find this sufficient for rolling and taste)

I then sprinkle about 4-5 Tbsp ice water
 (I mix the water with ice cubes in a glass before I start)
  1Tbsp at a time over the flour mixture and work it in,
first with the pastry cutter and then with my hands
until it just comes together to form a ball.

   You may need a little more or a little less liquid.

I've tried the suggestion to substitute the water with a little vodka,
 (supposedly to prevent the formation of gluten which makes the dough tough if worked too hard)
 but I got terrible results.

 Maybe I'll try again with less, say 1 Tbsp,

 but since I don't overwork the dough it always comes out flaky anyway. 

 

It gets shaped into a flattened ball, covered with saran wrap,

 and put into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

I then roll out the whole recipe onto a floured surface
 into one huge circle.

I place it, centered, onto my pie plate, spoon the apple mixture in and then just fold up the sides, getting a true "rustic" pie look.  Finally, I brush the top with 1 Tbsp of milk and sprinkle on a little sugar  before it goes into the oven (see pic).

I bake it at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes. 

you can cover the top loosely with aluminum foil once the top browns to your liking

and then, we enjoy !

I must try making these small tiara tarts !