#34 - Apple Pie

(crust by Harriet Weaver; apple pie by Shirley McNevich)

Pie crust:

5 cups flour
2 cups Crisco (generous, heaping)
1/2 stick of margarine or butter
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Arm & Hammer baking soda
1 egg
1 TBSP cider vinegar

Using your hands or a pastry blender, mix flour, crisco, margarine, salt, and baking soda until it's crumbly. Set aside. In a measuring cup, add egg and vinegar and beat with a fork. Add water until the egg mixture and the water meet the 1 cup line on your measuring cup. Beat with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix everything with hands until you can form a ball. Roll out the dough.

Spray a 10" pie plate with Pam cooking spray. Roll out one crust and place in pie plate. Spray the dough (inside and edges) with Pam cooking spray.

For pie filling:

8 Macintosh apples (or any baking apples)
1 cup white sugar
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 TBSP margarine
1/2 tsp. McCormick ground cinnamon

Peel, core, and pare apples into thin slices. Put in a 3 qt. microwavable bowl. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon and margarine (do not mix yet--just add ingredients). Cover with Saran wrap and put in microwave for 5 minutes on high. Remove from microwave and stir completely. Put Saran wrap back on, put back in microwave for 5 minutes on high. Stir. Pour the apple filling into the pie crust.

Make a second crust slightly bigger than the first crust. Place on top of pie so that second crust hangs 1/2" over the edge. Pinch two crusts together and tuck second crust overlap under the first crust. Make edges fancy using a fork your fingers.

Place pie on top of a cookie sheet to catch any filling that cooks out. Sprinkle some white sugar and cinnamon over the top of the pie. Take a paring knife and poke holes all the way through the pie and all around the top of the pie. Right in the center of the pie, lift crust slightly and cut a small hole for air. Cover the edge of the pie crust with foil (or use a pie shield) so edge doesn't get too done. Place in oven and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil/pie shield and bake for 15 more minutes or until crust is nice and brown.

You will have leftover pie dough if you are only making one pie. Use the suggestions:

This makes 5 - 10" crusts or 6 - 9" crusts. You can roll and re-roll and the crust won't get tough. You can refrigerate for a week, or you can freeze it for 3-4 months.

To freeze dough, make flat pieces (about an inch thick) and wrap each crust in saran wrap. Put in a ziploc bag. You can take out one at a time when you need them. To thaw in microwave, place one crust (leave saran wrap on). Set on defrost for :30 on each side. If not thawed, put in longer (microwaves vary).