Semi-Homemade Apple Pie.

As I keep stating, I'm not much on baking as I don't like to do all that precise measuring. Whenever I've made a fruit pie in the past, I used the canned stuff; I know, shocking!  When I received six large Granny Smith apples in my last Bountiful Basket pack, I simply stared at them.  They're too tart, in my opinion, for eating as is, so I've always used them in some type of cooking recipe.  This time I was going to be brave and bake them, but the decision was , "Apple Dumplings or Apple Pie"?

I don't make my own pie crust which is what I would need for either recipe.  Off to the local market I went to get refrigerated pie crusts, but the Marie Callender deep dish pie shells were on sale too; so apple pie it was.  Now how to put the pie together?  Well, I've always enjoyed watching baking shows, have several books on baking; as always, I was going to wing it. 

Surprise!  My little adventure came out a delicious success.  The apples were neither too soft, or too firm; they had just the right scrunch.  The butter melted and combined with the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to make a rich, fragrant sauce that, again, was neither too thin, or too gooey.  Goldilocks would have been so awesomely proud of my creation.

Apple Pie

(Recipe makes two pies)

 

Ingredients:

6 large Granny Smith apples

2 qts. cold water
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. nutmeg
2- deep dish (9 inch) pie shells
1 package refrigerated pie crusts
8 Tbsp. butter

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425F.

 

Core, peel and slice apples into ¼ inch slices; place in a large plastic bowl, cover with water and add in lemon juice.

 

 

 

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cut each tablespoon of butter into quarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into each pie shell, place ¼ of the apple slices; use a strainer to remove from the water and shake excess off.  Sprinkle ¼ cup of the brown sugar mixture over the slices; dot with eight quarter pieces of butter.  Repeat each layer – apple slices, brown sugar mixture, butter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top with pie crust and pinch the excess around the edge; with the tip of a knife, pierce the crust 9 to 12 times.

 

 

Place a piece of aluminum foil on the oven rack; center pie on top of foil to catch any dripping.  Bake for 45 – 50 minutes; until pie crust is a golden brown.

 

Mary Cokenour