Delicious Apple Pie

I'm going to start right off the bat by telling you that the photos in the post are deceiving. I made a spicy sausage quiche for dinner the other day. I had a few scraps of dough left over from the crust, and I remembered Eric giving me puppy dog eyes when he found out I had a delicious apple pie recipe that I had never made for him. So being an awesome wife, I made a couple of mini apple pies in ramekins. I used my usually apple pie recipe but just eyeballed the ingredients instead of measuring them out like I usually do for this blog. So this is a recipe for one apple pie, not mini apple pies.

I make my pastry from scratch, but you could very well use store-bought pie crust.

 Ingredients:
Pastry Dough
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
5-7 tablespoon cold water

Apple Filling
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 table cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening using two butter knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture is evenly moistened and clings together when pressed into a ball. Divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a 1/2-inch thick round. Wrap each dough round in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the sliced apples with the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Roll out your first dough round with a rolling pin until the dough round has about an 11-inch diameter. Place the dough over a 9-inch pie plate. Press the dough evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Be careful not to stretch the dough. Trim any excess dough that hangs over the edges of the pan. Reserve trimmings for another use if desired (see cinnamon-sugar pastries). Fill the pie with the apple mixture.

Roll out your second dough round as you did the first and place over the filling. Trim the top crust so about 1/2 inch fall over the edge of the plate. Fold the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust, pinching the edges together to form little ridges. Cut several slits near the center of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the juices form bubbles that slowly burst.

Allow to cool before eating.

Dress your pie up:
1. Turn your trimming into decorations for the pie. Use small cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the left over dough and place on top of the pie. I usually make leaves.

2. Give your pie a shiny top by lightly beating  an egg white and brushing it on top of the pie before baking it.

3. Or if you want a golden brown top, beat a whole egg and brush the top of the pie before baking.

4. Like your pies to have a little sparkle? Brush the top of your pie with a beaten egg than sprinkle a tablespoon of white sugar on top.

Homemade Streusel Topping 
You may have noticed that my mini pies have streusel on top instead of another layer of pastry. This was the first time I made my own streusel. It is sooo good with this pie. It might just become the new way I make an apple pie.

Streusel recipe comes from here. It will make enough to cover the top of an 9-inch pie plate.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. You can use a fork or your fingers to do so. I cut the ingredients together with two knives like I did to make the pastry. You could also toss all the ingredients in a food process and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly.

Sprinkle over pie (or muffins or coffee cake) before baking.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes!
Apple Chips
Apple Cider Cake
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Spiked Apple Cider Bon-bons