Worth the Effort...Apple Pie...Recipe

Apple Pie is something I believe MOST people love, and it's an All-American favorite. I make apple pie probably 4 or 5 times during the winter. Usually 2 pies at a time. In fact, I just made this today. :)

My recipe comes from my very worn out and much-loved Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, this one was published in 1981 and is my go-to cookbook if I'm looking for anything "standard". It also has cooking times for meats, poultry, etc.

This recipe calls for a double-crust pastry dough. You can make your own pastry dough for your pie, or you can do what I do (yes, I am THAT lazy) and buy the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts. They come 2 in a package and America's Test Kitchen tasting panel declared them the #1 store-bought pie crust (don't use frozen pie crusts/pans...they're not big enough). I can make a pie crust, I just find that in my VERY small kitchen, I'd prefer NOT to add to the mess and clutter by doing so.

If you own one of those apple peeler/corer/slicer gadgets USE it! It makes the prep time almost nothing for this pie!

Preheat oven to 375*F

Ingredients:
Pastry for a double-crust pie
6 cups (2 pounds) thinly sliced, cored, peeled, cooking apples (I find that Granny Smith is THE apple to use for apple pie, but I believe Golden Delicious is another apple recommended by America's Test Kitchen for this purpose). I find that 4 LARGE Granny Smith apples is perfect for one pie.
1 c. sugar (I use organic, evaporated pure cane juice sugar, but you can use white)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash or two of ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg, lightly beaten with a little water (egg wash)

If apples lack tartness, sprinkle with 1 Tbsp lemon juice (not usually necessary for Granny Smiths).
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon & nutmeg.
Add sugar mixture to the sliced apples; toss to coat fruit.
Line a 9" pie plate with pastry crust, fill with apple mixture, dot with butter. Cover with 2nd pastry crust.
Seal and flute the edge. Brush the crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle a little sugar over the crust. Cut a few vents in the top.
Cover the edges of your crust with foil or a crust protector. Bake 25 min.
Remove foil or protector and bake an additional 20-25 min., or until the crust is golden.
Cool.
Serves 8

Here is my worn-out, much loved, falling apart, tried & true favorite cookbook: