September 1, 2010

Apple Pie

Ingredients:
6 small or four large cooking apples (Granny Smith recommended)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold butter
cold water
1/2 cup sugar (amount of sugar is determined by how sweet the apples are)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
one egg
pie pan
small fruit knife, peeling tool, rolling pin, Pastry brush,

APPLE FILLING
Wash and peel the apples, then core and chop them using a small knife. Place the apple slices in a pan and sprinkle with sugar, 2tbps of water and 3/4 tsp of cinnamon. Cook slowly till soft, place in a container and refrigerate.

PIE DOUGH
Ingredients:
all purpose flour and butter Add a pinch of salt and sugar.

Directions:
Using your hands rub the ingredients together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Make a hollow circle in the powdered mix and add to this approx. 2 tbsp of water. Now gently mix the water into the powdered mix until a paste is formed. Note: Depending on the flour quality you may need to add a little more water or a bit more flour to reach the desired dough consistency. Knead the dough until the consistency is smooth and neither too hard nor too soft. Roll it into a ball, wrap it in film and let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour. Storage: The dough could be prepared the day before and can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days. (Mixer: You could place everything into a food processor and mix it up that way also.)

Directions to put the pie together:
Get your favorite 9 inch pie pan or pie dish. Roll it out to a 1/5 inch thickness and until it is large enough to cover the pie dish with a little extra to spare. Make sure you have dusted the working surface with some flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Lift the dough gently and flop it over the pie pan and set into place. Ease the dough all around the pie dish and into the dip. Now you can add the filling or alternately freeze the pie shell for later use. Spread the filling evenly into the pie shell. Add a final sprinkling of sugar onto the apple filling. This really depends on how sweet the apple filling is or how sweet your tooth. Using water or egg wash, wet the dough on the edge of the pie shell. Roll out the remainder of the dough and gently flop it over to cover the top of the filled pie dish. Using your thumb and fingers press the two pieces of dough firmly together. Using a small sharp knife trim the dough by cutting against the edge of the pie pan in a downward motion. Clean the edge using your thumb and fingers again. Make an egg wash using one egg and a pinch of salt. Brush it over the top of the pie. With a small sharp knife stab in a few small cuts in the middle of the pie top. sprinkle some sugar over the pie. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 430 for ten minutes then bake at 375 twenty minutes or until golden brown Leave to cool or serve hot... fresh from the oven.

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