A Was Once an Apple Pie

A was once an apple pie,
Pidy
Widy
Tidy
Pidy
Nice insidy
Apple pie!
- Edward Lear

The soundtrack: Don McLean, American Pie.

Recipe for apple pie . . .

Piecrust for double-crust pie:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening (I use butter flavor Crisco)
6 to 7 tablespoons cold water

Mix flour and salt. Gradually cut in shortening. Sprinkle a few tablespoons water over mixture; gently toss with fork. Add a tablespoon of water at a time until it’s the proper consistency. Roll dough into a ball; divide dough in half to make two balls of crust.

Cut two pieces of wax paper about 20” by 20”. Put one down on table, a bit of flour on top of it, then one of the balls of crust, then a bit more flour, then the top piece of wax paper. Flatten with a rolling pin. (A clean bottle also works if you have no rolling pin.) Do this to make each of the two crusts.

Peel the wax paper off the crust and line the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate with the first crust. Put the pie filling in it. Top with second crust. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make a lattice top for the top of the pie: roll out the top crust as usual, then cut uniform strips of crust about an inch or so wide. Weave about eight of the strips in and out among each other on top of the pie to make it look like a lattice.

Pie filling:

About 8 medium or 6 large peeled, diced cooking apples (about 2 pounds or a bit more)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
a few tablespoons brown sugar

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg. Add sugar mixture to diced apples; toss to coat. Fill a pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate with apple mixture. Dot top with butter and a bit of brown sugar. Put top crust on pie; seal top of pie crust at edges and smoosh down edges with fork; trim uneven edges of crust with a knife. Sprinkle just a tiny bit of white sugar on top of crust.

Cover edge of pie with foil. Sit pie on a baking pan or pizza pan in case juices bake out over. Bake in a 375-degree F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden. If juices have baked out of pie onto pizza pan, drizzle juices over top of pie; this will make it look extra nommy. Cool. Serve with cheese or ice cream if desired.

(Note: This is a derivative of the standard Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book’s recipe for apple pie.)

P.S. A shout-out to my mom and dad, as it was their tree's apples that I used to make this pie! The story of the apple tree, part 1 and part 2.