Apple Pie - Full Recipe

I came home from work yesterday evening and did just what I said . . . I made my hubby a pie.  And since the first time I posted about apple pie it was merely a picture, I decided to give you the full effect / recipe this time.

So lets get started.  This is what you will need for the crust . . .

Notice I am a fan of store brands except for Crisco.  I have learned the hard way store brand vegetable shortening simply doesn't measure up.  And I recommend unsalted butter for a better flavor, however, if you would like to go dairy-free or vegan on this recipe country crock or your favorite margarine brand will work just fine.

Grab your dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) and put them in a bowl.  Mix them first to ensure even distribution.

Add your butter and Crisco (or margarine and Crisco).  I would suggest softening the butter just slightly before adding it.  Then grab my favorite pastry tool . . . a pastry blender.  I don't have a picture because my camera was misbehaving (don't worry, it was reprimanded appropriately....), but it is a must for the pastry chef.  Many people can achieve the same result with two forks splitting up the butter/Crisco, but I have found nothing gives me the gorgeous crumbles I want like the pastry blender.  If you don't have one . . . get one. :)

Aren't those crumbles just gorgeous??  That's exactly what you are looking for.

Then add your 6T of water and use your hands to work the dough until it sticks together.  You could probably get away with 5T but I like to use a little extra so that the crust doesn't get too dry in the next step . . . which is turning the ball of dough onto a floured surface and kneading until you have a smoother dough, about 10 times.  This step is often a feel and personal preference.  If you would like a flakier crust, knead the dough a bit less and let it look a little grainy.  If you are more concerned about a smooth texture, knead it slightly longer.

Put the dough aside or back in the bowl.  Now we're going to work with the filling.  There are several different preferences as to what type of apple you use to bake a pie.  Some people prefer the tart Granny Smith.  My favorite is usually an Empire or Cortland as far as type . . . but my real favorite, is anything that is freshly picked. :)  Since apple season is not quite in full swing, I settled for a store-bought bag of Red Delicious (more on the tart side).  Grab your apples, a comfortable knife and start peeling.  I often use an Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer to accomplish this step if I am pressed for time, but sometimes . . . like tonight . . . I feel the need to be old fashioned.

So go ahead and peel . . . 

. . . and peel . . . until you've got 4 cups.  Or even a little more.  I like to use almost 5 and overload my pies. 

Hopefully it takes you less time then it took me.  Then again, I have a hard time not dropping apples because of my other baking project which pushes me away from my counter just slightly. :)

I'll let you know how that turns out in the end of October. :)

Back to the pie.  Once you have a bowl of gorgeous, peeled and sliced apples . . . 

Add sugar, cinnamon, and flour . . . 

. . . and mix it together.  

Then set them aside.  And back to the dough . . . 

Flour your surface again.  Very well . . . because this dough tends to stick more as you roll it out.  Split the dough about 3/4 to 1/4, and roll out the 3/4 until its about 1/8 inch thick and large enough to cover a pie pan.

My pie plate of choice is always glass, and my favorite is the smallest, cheapest Pyrex.  I have tried deeper plates, metal plates . . . and I always come back to this one.  Fold the dough into fourths and place it in the pan.  Use a fork and gently run it around the outside edge of the plate until the entire plate is covered the scraps can be use for the top.

Use a fork to perforate the bottom and sides a few times each, which allows the dough to stretch without cracking.  And then fill that beautiful plate with those gorgeous apples . . 

 . . . try not to drool or eat it prematurely, and roll out the remaining 1/4 ball of dough and scraps.  Once you have it rolled out the diameter of the pie plate and width of about 4 or 5 inches . . . cut it into strips.  These strips will allow you to create my favorite pie top, and top I will use on this pie -- the lattice.  If you want to fully cover the pie, roll out the entire remaining dough and cover the pie, making several small slits in the top to release the steam.  Others prefer a crumble topping like that of an apple crisp.  I have never honestly tried the crumble, but I've heard its wonderful.  I personally prefer the lattice because, well, it looks pretty and also because the apples seem to cook more evenly this way.

So anyway, back to our strips of dough . . .

And weave them over the pie.  

Here again, you have varying ideas as to how to edge the pie.  I often see the technique in which you use your fingers to create a ruffled edge to the pie.  I prefer to take a fork and press it down lightly, sticking the top of the pie to the edge crust and then angle the fork at about 45 degrees and pull down, pulling off the extra dough.  It ends up looking like this . . . 

I'm not sure if its the ease with which you create the edge or just the fact that I don't like a thick crust, but this is my favorite way to do it.

Now, before baking the pie I do one last thing . . . cover the edges with foil.  I leave the foil on for about 35 of the 45 minutes baking the pie to avoid the edges burning since they are quite a bit thinner than the rest of the crust.  If you cover the whole pie, you might want to use the foil to cover the entire top until the last 15 minutes or so of baking for the same reason . . . you want the overall look to be a beautiful brown, not a black.

Now sit back and enjoy the smell in your house for the next 45 minutes.  And when it comes out . . . 

. . . looking oh so beautiful (see, even with the aluminum foil edging, the crust is still a little too brown . . . I'll have to make it thicker next time). . . plate it.  

. . . and devour it.  Mmmmm . . . 

I had a very happy husband last night. :)

Happy Baking!

Apple Pie

Pie Crust 2 cups Flour 3/4 cups Shortening 3 Tbs Unsalted butter 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 6 tbs cold water Filling 4 cups Apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1 tbs Flour 1/2 cup Sugar Cinnamon (to taste)

Crust 1 Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt). 2 Add shortening and softened butter. Cut into dry ingredients with pastry blender until crumbly. 3 Add up to 6 T of water, mixing while adding, until the dough sticks together. 4 Remove crust from bowl and place on floured surface. Knead at least 10 times. 5 Divide dough into two parts. 3/4 in one part, 1/4 in another. 6 Roll out 3/4 of dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. 7 Arrange dough on pie plate, trimming extra off edges. Perforate bottom and sides of dough to avoid cracking. 8 Roll out remaining 1/4 of dough and cut into 1/4 inch strips. Set aside. 9 Make filling - fill crust. 10 Using strips of dough, interweave them on top to create a lattice finish. 11 Using a fork, gently push down on edges of dough around the pie plate to attach the top dough to the bottom dough. 12 Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil. 13 Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove aluminum foil, bake for 10 more minutes or until apples are soft when pierced by a knife. 14 Cool and enjoy! Filling 1 Mix apples, flour, sugar and cinnamon together in bowl.

Servings: 8

Degree of Difficulty Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult

Cooking Times Preparation Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 2 hours

Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (5.1 ounces). Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data. Amount Per Serving Calories 409.48 Calories From Fat (52%) 214.47 % Daily Value Total Fat 23.96g 37% Saturated Fat 10.55g 53% Cholesterol 22.21mg 7% Sodium 105.46mg 4% Potassium 103.07mg 3% Total Carbohydrates 45.8g 15% Fiber 2.37g 9% Sugar 19.06g Protein 3.54g 7%

Valentines Day!

As I'm sure you are all well aware, a very sweet holiday is arriving on Monday of this week.  Everywhere I look lately I see hearts and candy.  Lots of candy.  My wide-eyed daughter saw it too and requested that we make three very specific things for her Daddy for Valentines day (which I'm sure is only slightly selfish in nature):  Lollipops, cookies, and heart-shaped chocolates.  And seeing as I got a candy thermometer and a linzer cookie cut out set for Christmas/Birthday from my ever-supportive mom . . . I said sure!!

So I picked the most interesting of the three to show you . . . lollipops.  I have never made hard candy before because it always looked so difficult.  It turns out that its actually not as bad as it looks.  And its gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and nutt-free.  Now if only it was sugar-free and low-calorie it might be the perfect dessert. :)

Its a short shopping list for lollipops.

Hard Candy Molds
Lollipop sticks
2/3 C Light Corn Syrup (Not pictured)
2 C Sugar
3/4 C Water
1/4 tsp Food Coloring (gel or liquid)
Flavoring Oil - One Dram (LorAnn is a premium retailer)
Spray Vegetable Oil
Candy Thermometer
Small Saucepan (I suggest a 3 or 4 quart)

You begin by lightly oiling the candy molds.  Depending on the size of the molds, you will need several.  The bigger mold pictured you would need at least five, the smaller mold I would say closer to seven.  Since I wasn't sure how much the batch would make, I had four molds (two of each) and a greased cookie sheet.

Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup.  Stir it over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Once its dissolved, bring the mixture to a boil without stirring it by raising the heat.  At this point I would insert the thermometer and clip it to the side of the pan.  The bulb of the thermometer should be submerged in liquid but not touching the bottom of the pan.  

When the temperature on the thermometer reaches 260 degrees, add the food coloring.  Allow the natural boiling of the liquid to disperse the color for you.  

Allow it to continue to boil until 300 degrees and immediately remove it from the heat as the candy temperature will continue to rise while it is still boiling.  Wait until the liquid is no longer boiling, then add the flavoring oil and stir.  

Pour the liquid into the greased molds and/or onto the greased cookie sheet.  In the case of the cookie sheet, score marks for easier breaking later on.  I need some practice to make sure its the correct amount of liquid, but overall this step is fairly self-explanatory.  Put the lollipop sticks in the molds before or after pouring, it didn't seem to have too much of a different outcome.

After 30 minutes to an hour the molds/sheet should be cool enough to remove the candies.  And wha-la!  Lollipops!

And for an added bonus, cover them in little bags and use decorative twist-ties or ribbon to tie them closed.  

My daughter has already eaten two and given many to friends.  What a great gift idea!!

And just for pictures and a few more ideas . . .

Molded Chocolate Candies . . . 

Linzer Cookies (Well actually, sugar cookies with buttercream frosting)

And if you need more ideas check out Bakerella's site and the Pioneer Woman.  That should be enough for you to get the creative juices flowing, right?? :)

Happy Baking!!

Hard Candy / Lollipop

2 cups sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup 3/4 cup water 1/4 tsp food coloring 1 tsp flavoring

1 Lightly oil hard candy molds (vegetable oil). 2 In a large saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. 3 Bring mixture to a boil without stirring. 4 When syrup temperature reaches 260o F, add color. Do not stir; boiling action will incorporate color into syrup. 5 Remove from heat at 300 degrees or when drops of syrup form hard brittle threads in cold water. (Temperature will continue to rise after removing from heat, so remove precisely at 300 degrees). 6 After boiling action ceases, add flavoring and stir. USE CAUTION WHEN ADDING FLAVORING TO AVOID RISING STEAM. 7 Pour into lightly oiled candy molds (not chocolate molds), or onto greased cookie sheet and score to mark squares. 8 When cool, unmold or break into pieces. You can also dust with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Store in airtight containers.

Servings: 24

Degree of Difficulty Degree of Difficulty: Difficult

Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/24 of a recipe (1.2 ounces). Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data. Amount Per Serving Calories 92.96 Calories From Fat (2%) 1.83 % Daily Value Total Fat 0.21g <1% Saturated Fat 0.03g <1% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 6.26mg <1% Potassium 0.5mg <1% Total Carbohydrates 23.94g 8% Fiber 0g 0% Sugar 19.17g Protein 0g 0%