Mom's Apple Pie
Here on the farm there are so many wonderful things that give me joy. One of the wonders we have here is a beautiful old, and I mean old, apple tree. Its majestic, its bounty plentiful and stories, well I am pretty sure its been the subject of a few. One of my daughters was married here on the farm and we have some beautiful pictures in front of that old tree.
We’ve made cider vinegar from it, although Im pretty sure that the vinegar part was not part of the plan. We’ve brought the cows in with the promise of a delicious treat and this past weekend I decided it way past time that I made an apple pie.
I remember as a child sitting at the kitchen table, legs swinging on the big wooden chair and listening to my mother hum some old song I didn’t recognize. She had small hands and they were covered with flour and moving quickly to get the 4 or 5 pies she would be making for some occasion. I never remember her making just one, it was always a line up across the small counter. I think about it now and Im not quite sure how she made them all with so little space to work. On a rare occasion she would let me cut the Crisco up in the flour. “Nancy make sure they are small pieces like little pea’s”. I wanted it to be perfect because her pies were always so beautiful. Light flaky crusts and she did it so effortlessly. I didn’t realize that this was not an easy thing for most people until I started making pies myself. “Mom whats the secret to a good crust”, “Well, everything must be cold and handle the pastry as little as possible”. Good Advice.
Now you might not be as lucky as me to have an old apple tree in the yard but most of us don’t live to far from a market. The fall is upon us now and with all that fresh produce available I’m sure if you look in your local paper you are bound to find some fall festival or farmers market close to you. If you are going to the supermarket for your apples, look for honey crisp or granny smith. You don’t want anything to sweet. A little tart is always good
Pastry For One 9” Pie
2 Cups Of Flour
1 Cup of Crisco
A Pinch Of Salt
3/4 Cup Of Very Cold Water
Filling
10 Large or 20 small (when cutting them into slices put them in a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of lemon juice.)
Sugar And Cinnamon To Taste
In a medium size bowl mix flour and salt together. Add crisco and using a pastry cutter or knife cut pieces until they are “pea” size. Add water a little at a time until dough starts to stick together. Sometimes you need a little more water, sometimes a little less. Relax and enjoy the process. Use a liberal amount of flour on the counter so as the dough doesn’t stick. Roll out large enough so that pastry hangs over the edges of the pie plate.
Fill your pie with apple and dust with cinnamon and sugar.
Roll out your top and place on top of your pie. Pinch your edges together. Now there are lots of ways of doing this but its a practise thing and what your most comfortable with. What I do is use my index finger of one hand to push the inner edge out while I pinch the outer edge in with thumb and index finger of the other hand. Now if you like you can just use a fork. Just go around the edge gently pressing the top and bottom crusts together. Easy Peasy. Remember to cut that extra pastry off the edges and your done. Your family is going to be so impressed you made a pie from scratch the edging is going to be the last thing they are thinking about! Now cut little openings across the top of the pie, like a bird walked across it. An egg and a little water mixed together and brushed along the top and a sprinkle of sugar and its ready for the oven.
375 for about 50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!
My Mom,
My Inspiration