I haven’t been around much lately, and you may have guessed why: the baby is coming! With two weeks left till due date, the days seem to be getting shorter and the impatience is running high. There is still so much to do and sometimes I panic I won’t have enough time to buy all the things the baby needs. I haven’t slept well lately either, most likely due to the stress.
Food-wise, we rely a lot on the slow cooker nowadays because it’s easy to use and very convenient. I didn’t use the oven much after Thanksgiving, but when I did use it, the result was definitely worth it. Such was the case with the apple pie my mom made for Thanksgiving – it was so good that I asked her to make it again and again, and she happily obliged 🙂 I hadn’t had her apple pie in a gazillion years and I had forgotten how delicious it actually was! We made it again earlier this week and used 4 large Michigan apples we bought from the local grocery store. I’m not a fan of the Granny Smith variety, so I used Michigan, which gave the pie an unmistakable flavor and a perfumed sweetness we thoroughly enjoyed.
Ingredients for the apple pie crust
4 cups flour
1 whole egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix all of the ingredients for the crust using a mixer or your bare hands (I used the latter), ensuring they are well combined. Roll the crust on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Split the crust in two halves and place the first half in an apple pie dish which has been buttered and floured.
Here’s the entire preparation process in a nutshell:
Pop the dish into the oven and blind bake the crust for approximately 15 minutes. Meanwhile, you can prepare the pie filling.
Ingredients for the apple pie filling
4 apples (they should weigh approximately 2lbs in total)
1/2 cup sugar (use more if the apples are sour and less if they are very sweet)
1/4 stick unsalted butter
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Melt the butter in a pan. Wash and peel the apples, then grate them and add them to the pan along with the sugar. Sauté the apples over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they are soft and have released their juices. Add the ground cinnamon and stir for a few more minutes until the ingredients are well combined.
Take the blind-baked pie crust out of the oven and the apple filling off the stove and let both cool down. Distribute the apples evenly on top of the crust, making sure to leave their juice out. Place the second half of the crust (the one that is raw) on top of the apples and seal it around the edges. Apply a thin layer of melted butter and put the pie in the oven. Bake it for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is fully cooked. Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool down. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Cut the pie into slices and serve it with a topping of your choice. We love to eat it with whipped cream, but you can also use fresh fruit, fruit topping or even chocolate sauce if you’re a chocoholic.
This pie recipe has a long history in our family, which sadly was cut short at one point for reasons I fail to remember. I’m glad to see it back as a holiday baking tradition, and I hope we’ll never forget about it again. Who can resist the flaky crust and delicious apple wholesomeness of this pie? Who can say no to this light dessert, full of fruit goodness and buttery heaven? I for sure cannot 🙂
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