Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches (can you believe it’s only a few short weeks away?!), I imagine you are beginning to put together your dinner menus for the feast of the year.

Over the past few years, I’ve been in charge of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my in-laws, which means early wake-up calls and hours of standing on my feet, pulling food in and out of the oven.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love hosting Thanksgiving; however, at times it can be stressful (wine usually gets me through the day). Many of you will most likely be eating the usual fixings: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls to mop up all the juicy goodness left on the plate. But what are you serving for dessert (if there’s any room left)?

My family always loved to snack on pumpkin pie, one of my favorite desserts of all time. However, there’s also another traditional pie that is typically served on Thanksgiving — the one and only old-fashioned apple pie. You can’t go wrong serving either one of these two pies. However, if you’re responsible for bringing dessert this year, this apple pie is guaranteed to be a huge hit.

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
• 4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 cups thinly sliced and peeled tart apples (8 medium)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions) until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
2. Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable.
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round 2 inches larger than an upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing against bottom and side.
4. In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until mixed well. Spoon into pastry-lines plate. Cutter butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.
5. Roll other round of pastry into 1o-inch round. Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
6. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm, if desired.

*Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker

From everything to the gooey filling to the flaky crust, this pie is a homemade classic.