Contributed by:
January Bain
(januarybain.ca)
Paranormal Romance & Science Fiction
Story behind the recipe – My husband and I recently discovered a love of cooking together. Our first venture into baking territory happened a few weeks back when he showed up in our kitchen wanting to help bake a pie. With a crisper in the frig full of apples, it only seemed logical to build an apple pie. He dutifully peeled, cut & cored while I did the butter crust. We were so pleased we decided right there and then to do it again in the future. Any given Sunday you can find us hard at work on a new creation!
What you’ll need – This pie is so tasty you’ll wish you’d baked two of them! You need a large pie plate that holds the cut up pieces of a five pound bag of apples (8-10 apples of whatever kind you like). We prefer Spartans as they are firm enough to hold their shape.
- 8 to 10 apples, ½ pound of butter
- 2 cups of flour plus enough to roll it out, 1 to 1½ cups of Splenda or sugar to taste
- Spices include: 1 to 2 Tbsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg plus 1Tbsp vinegar plus enough water in a measuring cup to create 1 cup of liquid.
- 1 egg (optional) to brush on top crust. Sprinkle it with sugar for a nice brown, pretty pie crust!
Steps to the process
- Peel, cut and core apples. Toss apples with 1 to 2 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp Splenda or sugar.
- Place butter and flour into bowl with salt and cut the butter into pea-sized pieces.
- Quickly stir in enough of the egg, vinegar and water mixture to have the flour come together into a ball. Don’t overwork the dough! Divide into two.
- Generously dust a surface with flour and roll out one of the balls of dough into a ¼ inch flat sphere.
- Place inside the pie plate and trim the edges to fit.
- Place the apple, cinnamon and sugar (Splenda) mixture inside the pie plate. There should be a heaping amount for a great pie!
- Roll out the second ball of dough. Fold in half and cut air-vents into it. Place over the top of the pie, crimp edges with a fork or use your fingers. Then, brush on an egg wash, sprinkle with sugar or Splenda. Viola! You are ready to bake it.
- Place pie in pre-heated oven (start at 3750F and then turn it down to 3500F after 5 or 10 minutes.)
- Cook 40 to 50 minutes. Check with a fork and take out when brown and apples are tender inside.
Comments – You’ll probably wish you baked two when you get your first taste. The butter crust perfectly off-sets the cinnamon apples. As I always like to say, “Everything is better with butter!”
Blurb from Forever Clan - “I think reading all those vampire romance novels you love so much has addled your brain, Sunday Rose St. Clair. First, it was Grandma Rose and her faeries, and now you and your vampires.” Her mother remarked without rancor as she deftly rolled out the piecrust for the fifth pie of the morning. Sunday Rose was lagging behind her mother in peeling the Macintosh apples she was in charge of, causing her mother to give her a stern warning with eyes that plainly stated to hurry it up, we don’t have all day.
She sighed, “But ma, to be able to live forever, just imagine!”