Friday, October 25, 2013

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

 
Old Fashioned Pie Crust; recipe below
6 lg Golden delicious apples; or 3 pounds, up to 7
1/4 c Light brown sugar; firmly packed
1/4 c Granulated sugar; plus additional for sprinkling on the top crust
2 tb Cornstarch
3/4 ts Ground cinnamon
1/8 ts Grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tb Freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tb Unsalted butter; softened

EGG GLAZE
 
1 lg Egg; and
3 tb Cold water
Vanilla ice cream; as accompaniment
Steps
Preheat the over to 425 degrees F.

Quarter, core and peel the apples. Cut each quarter into 3 wedges. Measure the apples into a large bowl. They will make roughly 8 cups.
In a small bowl, stir together with a wire whisk the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add the lemon juice and the sugar mixture to the apple slices and mix until they are evenly coated.
Line the pie plate with the bottom crust and mound the apple filling into it. Using both hands, press and shape the apples to form a tightly packed, high mound. Trim the bottom crust to a 1/2 inch overhang. Dot the filling with butter. Arrange the top crust over the apples, patting the crust gently with your hands so it conforms to the shape of the filling. Leave a 1 inch edge. Fold the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and flute the edges decoratively, pressing together with your thumb and forefinger.
Reroll the pastry scraps to make 3 large diamond-shaped leaves, each about 2 1/2 inches long. Cut them out freehand or use a diamond shaped cookie cutter. Use the back of a paring knife to make indentations simulating leaf veins. Brush the backs of the leaves lightly with egg gaze, then apply the leaves to the very top of the pastry, bending or twisting them slightly to give them a natural look. With a sharp pairing knife, make 5 or 6 steam vents, each 3/4 inch long, around the center of the top crust.
Bake the pie for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. and continue to bake the pie for 40 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of the baking time, brush the top with egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar. The pie is done when the pastry is olden brown and the juices are bubbling.
Let the pie cool on a wire rack before serving it slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.

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