Here in Arkansas, the temperature is hovering steady around a million degrees…ok, fine, it’s around 100 degrees but it feels like a million with this humidity!
The electric bill will cost a small fortune because it’s going non-stop in order to keep us comfortable because we dare not go outside unless life depends on it! This has me wishing for and anticipating all things fall!
Today I bought some “Pumpkin Farm” wax melts at the grocery store and I’m already planning my fall decor and my Razorback football Saturday menus. This has me thinking about delicious desserts that I love to make for our family when we have company over for football games.
One of the favorite desserts I make and is almost always requested by my brother is homemade apple pie! I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I can’t. It’s been handed down for several generations in our family and was taught to me by my great grandmother.
She was the middle child in her family, so at the age of 7 she was responsible for cooking and cleaning and babysitting her younger siblings while her parents and older three siblings worked their farm.
When Mamaw taught me to cook, I was around 8 years old. She had about 75 years of cooking under her belt at that time, so I think she’s the best teacher I could’ve had! I spent years learning to make this apple pie, and that’s no joke! It’s because my Mamaw never measured anything! She “eyeballed” it all and would tell me things like “use about an egg sized scoop of shortening”. What’s an 8 year old modern day kid knows about that?!
So fast forward many years and many failed pies later, I finally mastered the art and got Mamaw’s thumbs up approval when I was about 18 years old. Only a decade of learning, so not too bad, huh?!
During this process I wrote down actual measurements and adjusted after each pie until she finally told me the final product was right, so I will share the recipe with you!
Before I start the process of pie making, I always prepare my work surface and lay out all of my ingredients so the process flows more smoothly and I make as little mess as possible with my messy hands! And I’m quite a messy cook anyway, if I’m being honest!
I lay out my silicone mat, my Mamaw’s wooden rolling pin, all of my crust ingredients, and most importantly, a cup of ice water. Not cold water, actual ice water! This is a must for delicious flaky crust!
One of the keys to the perfect pie crust is handling it as little as possible, and that’s why I love using a silicone mat to roll my pie crust on. It helps peel and fold it without as many tears when I go to move it into the pie plate, which prevents me from having to overwork the dough. It also requires less flouring than a countertop so I don’t dry my crust too much.
If you do take multiple attempts to perfect this process, don’t stress it. Your dough won’t be as flaky and may be a little more tough, but it will still be delicious! Practice makes perfect and the more you make this crust, the better you’ll get at it!
I start my measuring my flour, shortening and salt and cut them together using a pastry cutter like this.
This is the part that takes practice because I cut it until the mix is pretty crumbly. I don’t really have a scientific measurable description, but this picture may help!
I will usually grab a small handful of this crumbly mix and squeeze. If it holds together, then I know it’s ready. If it still crumbles, you may need to add a little more shortening.
At this point, I add my ice water and continue to mix with the pastry cutter until it’s sticking together. I then use my hands to finish incorporating the mixture into a ball but try to not over handle. I then use a knife to cut the ball in half. One half will be the bottom crust and one the top crust.
(This recipe makes enough for two crusts, so for pies that only require a bottom crust, you can use this recipe for two pies, or you can freeze half for later use. Our apple pie requires a top and bottom crust so this recipe makes one apple pie.)
I set out one half of the dough ball on a lightly floured silicone mat and sprinkle a little flour on top of the ball and on my rolling pin. I then roll the dough almost paper thin, making sure it’s big enough to cover and overlap my pie plate. I prefer using glass pie plates, but when I’m gifting pies, the do fine in the aluminum disposable plates like these.
Very carefully I will fold the crust (using the mat to help me) in half, and then in half again, making a small triangle that I can easily transfer into my pie plate and gently unfold, in order to cover the plate. Now the bottom crust is done and ready to be filled!
Now I preheat my oven to 300 degrees and clean up my mess from crust making and start to prepare my pie filling.
This part can actually be done ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator overnight or can even be frozen or canned for future use. Sometimes I will even make several whole pies and freeze those as well!
I use 4-5 apples depending on size, and spice them very thin. The variety isn’t very important. I’ve used red delicious, gala, fugi and many others and the pie always comes out perfectly!
Slicing these apples very thin is crucial and you don’t want to get lazy on this part! I’ve had some delicious apple pies with awful texture because of huge chunks of apples that don’t cook unevenly. In fact, my Mamaw used to tell me over and over “paper fine, sis…paper fine” when I would lazily start slicing the apples a bit thicker to save time!
After your apples are peeled and sliced, I add the peels and cores to a bowl for my chickens to enjoy, but they’re excellent for compost too! Then place in a large mixing bowl where you will add thinly sliced softened butter, sugar, flour, and apple pie spice and gently stir until well incorporated.
Now you can dump this into your bottom crust and repeat the process for rolling out the top crust.
Gently fold and place the top crust over the pie using the same method we used for the bottom crust, and use your fingers to pinch the two layers together all around the pie.
Now use a sharp knife to trim off excess crust, cut a few vent holes in the top of the pie, and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, depending on your oven. Some ovens I’ve been able to pull them out at an hour and 15 minutes, some have taken a full 20-30 minutes longer, so just keep an eye on it. The finished product will be a light shade of brown and your house will smell amazing!
As tempting as it may be, don’t cut right into your pie. Let it cool for about 20-30 minutes just to let the center set so it doesn’t run and make your crust soggy.
If you have frozen your pie before baking, don’t thaw it. Place it directly from the freezer into the preheated oven and bake it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, watching the color of the crust.
I hope your family loves this delicious recipe as much as mine does!
Feel free to message me or comment if you have any questions. I would love to help if you need me to!
Mamaw’s Pie Crust:
1 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable shortening
4 Tbsp ice water
Mamaw’s Apple Pie Filling:
4-5 apples, peeled and sliced very fine
2 heaping Tbsp flour
1 c sugar
1/2 stick softened butter
1 tsp apple pie spice
