Irresistible Apple Pie

Leslie Smoot

I won an award with this recipe in the Lion House Pie-making competition.

Filling:
6-8 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples (I use Granny Smith)
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (or 3/4 cup) well-chilled butter-flavored Crisco shortening
4-8 Tbsp. ice cold water

Mix flour and salt together.  Cut up Crisco into chunks and drop chunks onto flour mixture.  Using 2 knives or pastry blender, cut the Crisco into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some pea-sized pieces.

1. Sprinkle half the maximum recommended amount of ice water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.
2. Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
3. Divide dough into 2 balls.  Flatten balls into 5-6" pancakes.  Roll one into circle between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper on dampened countertop.  Pull off top sheet and invert pastry into bottom of 9" pie plate.  Remove other sheet of plastic wrap and press pastry to fit pie plate, without stretching dough.  Trim edge even with pie plate.  Add filling (see filling instructions below).  Roll out second pancake, remove top sheet of plastic wrap and invert pastry on top of filled pie.  Remove other sheet of plastic wrap and trim to 1/2" beyond edge of pie plate.  Fold top edge under bottom crust, pressing the two edges together to seal.  Crimp and flute edges.  Cut slits in top crust to let steam escape.
4. Filling:
5. Toss apples and orange juice in large bowl.  Combine brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Toss with apples until coated.  Spoon into unbaked pie shell.  Dot with butter.  Moisten flat edge of pastry with water.  Continue with above instructions for top crust.  Sprinkle top crust with a cinnamon/sugar mix.

Cover top of pie with sheet of foil to prevent over-browning.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 min.  Remove foil.  Bake an additional 10-20 minutes or until apples are tender and filling in center is bubbly and crust is golden brown.  Cool pie to room temperature before serving.