Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
5-7 Tbsp. ice cold water
6-8 cups thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (I prefer more)
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. (I use at least a full tsp., maybe more) cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Mix flour and salt in large bowl, then cut in shortening with pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is evenly moistened and forms a ball. Divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10-15 minutes.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples. For this particular pie, I think I used 8 smallish apples. I really prefer more than that, but it was all I had. I like my pies to be really full. Toss the apples with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice; set aside. I let them set and reduce for quite a while. I want them to make as much juice as possible. This is a good time to roll out your pie crusts.
3. I roll out my pie crusts onto plastic wrap. I generally hate plastic wrap, but it works really well for this purpose. It takes two pieces slightly overlapped to make it wide enough. Once I've rolled out my crust to the size I need, I lift it using the plastic wrap, invert it over the pie plate, then pull the plastic wrap off. Voila! (Store bought pie crusts also work well, but I didn't have any, so I had to make my own this time!) Use a knive to trim the edges of the crust away from the pan. Save the scraps if you intend to make any decorative cut outs on top.
4. Now that the apples have had time to sit, drain them over a bowl. Drain as much of the liquid off of them as possible. Spread the apples in the prepared pie crust.
5. Add the 2 Tbsp. butter to the liquid that you drained off of the apples. You will boil this down into a syrup. I do this in the microwave. It takes about 5-6 minutes in my microwave. Of course, this can also be done on the stove. There's no exact time limit here, I just reduce it down about half way. Be sure to watch it, though. You don't want to reduce it too much, or you won't have enough liquid in your pie. Once you've done this, pour the syrup over the apples in the pie crust.
6. Now it's time to roll out your top pie crust. Use the same method that we used for rolling out the bottom crust. Lay it on top of the pie, covering the filling. (You can get all fancy here and do lattice pie crusts and such if you choose. I never do, because I'm too lazy!) Trim away the edges. Use your fingers to flute the edges, being sure the crimp the bottom and top crusts together. I don't have a picture of this, but there are plenty of videos on YouTube if you need help. Cut slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
7. Bake at 400 for 45-50 minutes.
A few tips:
~I always brush my top crust with a lighly beaten egg, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar or granulated sugar for a golden-brown, sparkling top.
~ Brushing the top with a lightly beaten egg white will give a shiny top.
~ Use aluminum foil strips to cover the edges of the pie crust to keep it from getting too brown.
~ If you want to make decorative cut outs for the top of your pie, cut the from your scraps, then lay them on top of the crust before brushing with the egg.
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