Recipe: Apple Pie

I like pie. People like pies. Especially apple pies.

I was pretty nervous about making my own pie crust at home for the first time. I was super paranoid about "tough" pastry, so I was really careful to not overwork it.

Ingredients

Pastry

Flour

Butter or shortening

Salt 

Brown Sugar

Water

Filling

Apples

Lemon

Sugar

Spices 

Butter

Corn Starch

General Method (Pie Crust - top and bottom) 

• Mix fat and flour
• Mix salt and sugar in water
• Combine and knead until dough comes together
• Allow dough to rest and divide
• Roll out bottom crust, fit into pie plate and egg wash 

General Method (Pie Filling)

• Core and peel apples 
• Coat with sugar, starch, spices and lemon
• Cover filling with top crust and cut a hole to release steam
• Water wash and sprinkle with sugar (or cinnamon sugar!)

Adapted from some other recipe

Comments:

• I prefer using butter over shortening in my dough, because it's generally more flavourful and not gross!
• I was worried about the crust thickness - too thick and it won't cook; too thin and it will rip apart during assembly. I didn't really have either of these problems
• Ideally, I would have liked to use Spartan apples, but couldn't find any. I used a combination of granny smith and honey crisp...
• Use modified corn starch (Clear Jel), not corn starch! They are not created equal. I ended up with a significant amount of liquid in the pie from the apples which didn't thicken adequately with regular corn starch. This changes the consistency of the bottom crust, which should be crisp and only slightly wet on the inside of the pie. 

Overall Recommendation:

• It was easier than I thought
• Try it! Next time I'll try strawberry and rhubarb... well, when it's summer and rhubarb is around again.