Apple Pie

When my husband brought this carton of apples home today do you think he was giving me a hint? He's actually been asking for apple pie for about three weeks now. I told him he had to wait for the Fall apples like Empire or Macoun. So today when he went to the big produce center to get stuff for a friend who has a farm stand he picked up these apples.

This morning I made the Perfect Pie Crust. If you follow the link you will get the directions for making the crust. My apple pie recipe comes from how my mother made her pies all throughout childhood and adulthood.

For my filling:

• 8 apples, peeled cored and sliced
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• pinch fresh grated nutmeg (or use already ground)
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch

1. As you are slicing your apples add in some lemon juice so they do not turn brown. How much you use really depends on how many apples you have and how sweet the apples are. I ended up using about 3 tablespoons.
2. To the bowl with the apples add in the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and the cornstarch. Mix well to combine and set aside.
3. Roll the bottom crust, fill with apples and then top with crust. Make slits in the crust for air to escape.
4. As an added thing I sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar prior to baking. Some milk brush the crust with plain milk or an egg wash.

As you can see, some of the liquid did spill out due to the fact that I did not crimp the pie enough. However there was still plenty of juice in the pie.

I baked my pie in a 350° oven on the middle rack for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. The apples were sweet and tart and fully cooked but not too mushy. The pie crust turned out awesome.  This photo represents my husbands slice! Despite how full the pie was to start you can see how much the apples cook down.