No Frills Apple Pie

I like to switch up this recipe, almost every time I make it, which is why my strengths are in cooking, not baking. Nevertheless, this was a big hit at the Pre-Thanksgiving Turkey Partay, and I found ways to scrimp on time without losing flavor.



Ingredients:

For the crust - makes about 3 dough balls, which can be used for the tops/bottoms. If you end up with extra, wrap in plastic and throw it in the freezer.

1 c butter (2 sticks)
1/2 c shortening (crisco vegetable is fine)
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c ice cold water
egg whites (for glazing)

In general, when making a crust, I go by a 2:1 flour-to-fat ratio. You can go with all-shortening, or all-butter, but I like to use a mixture of both because the butter gives the crust flavor, while the shortening gives the crust just the right amount of flaky/airiness that I like.

For the filling:
7-8 granny smith apples (galas and empires are all right, too --- this is a matter of preference)
1/2 c sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
1/2 shot whiskey
1/2 c apple juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Start with the crust. Making sure your butter is COLD, cut butter into tiny cubes and mix with shortening. Cut in your flour, slowly, until the whole thing resembles a crumble. Do not mix with your hands, or do anything to melt or smear the butter/shortening crumbs. This is what makes your crust flaky - when the butter melts into the flour, it leaves air spaces where the butter's been. Very existentialist. Add the 1/2 c of ice water SLOWLY, in drops, for all the flour to stick together. You should have a half-pasty, half crumbling mix at this point - and now, very gingerly and carefully, pat the dough down and separate into three little globes. Don't work the dough too much, or knead it. Stick the whole thing in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, and then transfer to the fridge. Some recipes will tell you to wait a whole day before baking, but I'm a philistine & don't have that kind of patience. You want the dough to sit for at least a half-hour, for the flour to absorb the water, but anything significantly longer than that is unnecessary.

While the dough is "setting," coat apple slices in all the ingredients listed above for the filling. Don't bother with lemon juice or whatever hogwash other recipes will tell you; it all gets baked anyway and a little oxidation is not going to ruin you. If you need more sugar, add more sugar (brown or white is fine; I usually use a mix of the two).

5-10 minutes after you finish peeling/coring/slicing/coating the apples, the dough should be ready. Take it out of the fridge and roll it out into a disk that's wide enough to cover the bottom and sides of your pie dish. Fold it in half and transfer onto your baking dish (the folding makes the transfer easier but if you're skilled, you can throw the whole thing on without breaking). If it doesn't break, don't worry about it, just patch up the holes with leftover dough.

Fill up the crust with apples. Dust with brown sugar. Let it sit.

Follow this youtube video on how to make a lattice crust. This little dude is pretty skilled.

With any remaining dough scraps, line the perimeter of the pie pan with a dough noodle and squash it all down with a fork.

Bake for an hour, covered with aluminum foil, at 375 deg F. Let the pie sit for a couple of hours at room temp, for the filling to gel up and get the right "goop" consistency. Enjoy!