Happy… National Pie Day and National Eat a Red Apple Day! In honor, here’s Mom’s recipe for…
APPLE PIE
THAT’S APPLE-SOLUTELY PERFECT!
By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 241). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
It wasn’t until I sampled the pie shops of Southern California that I truly came to appreciate the good-old-down-home-flavor that our moms were known for when we were kids. (My mother made the most mouth-watering apple pie that ever graced a table.)
Marie Callender Shops and Restaurants in the Torrance, Long Beach and Lakewood (CA) areas have a delicate, buttery-flavor, apple pie filling. The Polly Pie Shops’ apple filling has a bit of spice. The Poppin’ Fresh Pie Shops has a hint of nutmeg, I suspect… With some super-sleuthing, I finally arrived at, what I consider a perfect apple pie!
INGREDIENTS:
1 prepared, double pie crust recipe – I recommend either my [mother’s] Crisco Crust or my [most dependable] Butter Crust recipe (see Recipes tab)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
dash of powdered ginger (less than a pinch)
8 cups thinly sliced, peeled and cored… sweet apples, like Granny Smith [or Jonathan or McIntosh]
4 tablespoons butter
INSTRUCTIONS:
Partially-bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes at 375°F and remove to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the filling. Combine everything except the butter in a roomy bowl, coating the apples completely. Arrange apple mixture in the partially-baked, bottom crust.
Prepare the top crust per the recipe you used. Dot the filling with dabs of the butter and apply the top crust. Seal the edges with a fork dipped in ice water. Make slits in the top for steam to escape. (If using the Crisco Crust recipe, brush with the recommended egg-wash per that recipe.)
Preheat oven to 400°F and bake for 45 to 50 minutes on center rack or until crust is golden brown and filling starts to bubble. Cool to lukewarm on a wire rack before cutting into 6 to 8 servings.
See also…
