Apple Pie

The fourth and final Thanksgiving pie was a delicious Apple Pie. For some reason, I was most nervous to make this pie, even though it is a fairly simple recipe. Something about having to alter the amount of certain ingredients based on the taste of the apples made me anxious. What if it was too sweet? Too tart? What if I messed up the most American and classic pies of Thanksgiving? Obviously, I put far too much pressure on myself over a pie. Seriously, it’s just dessert. But, alas, I can’t help it; I want everything to be perfect. I even went to bed Wednesday night thinking about what shapes I might cut out of the top crust. Apples? Leaves? Turkeys? The possibilities seemed endless and I was simply overwhelmed.

So, Thursday morning came and after a run to Starbucks for the family, I was ready to tackle delicious Apple Pie. I used the Apple Pie recipe from the Joy of Cooking and I very much hope you enjoy it!

Apple Pie

2 pie crusts

5-6 cups apples

½ to 2/3 cup white or brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 to 1½ tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1½ tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with one of the pie crusts.

Gorgeous Granny Smith Apples!

Pare, core, and thinly slice apples. I used 8 small Granny Smith apples. I had some considerable assistance from my sister Erin as to the best way to peel the apples. She likes a peeler from Ikea and starts at the top, peeling the whole apple in one slice. I’m new to this, and my peels were not as pretty as hers. My dad helped me core the apples with this corer (did I just make up a word?) that I was not strong enough to use. As you can tell, peeling and coring was definitely a family effort. :)

Combine and sift sugar, salt, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the apples. Only very tart apples require the larger amount of sugar. I decided to use half white sugar and half brown sugar. Only very juicy applies require the larger amount of cornstarch. You can tell how juicy the apples are by how much juice is in the bottom of the bowl.

From apple slices to apple pie.

Stir the apples gently until they are well coated.

Beautiful slices of heaven.

Place the apple slices in layers in the pie shell and dot apples with butter.

I think the butter is really cute. Is that weird?

Roll out the upper pie crust and use festive cookie cutters to decorate the top. I think that using cookie cutters is more fun than just pricking the crust.

Can you say FESTIVE? Apples and Turkeys!!! :)

Cover the pie with the crust and fold the edges of the upper crust underneath the bottom crust. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to secure the two crusts. Brush the top of the pie lightly with milk.

Brushed with milk and ready for the oven!

Bake in the 450°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

My first fruit pie!! :)

Overall, it was a pretty fun experience to make a fruit pie.  The reviews at our Thanksgiving table were overall positive, although I thought it was a touch too tart. But, I didn’t have it with any vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and I think apple pie à la mode is really the best way to go.

And here is a final picture of our Thanksgiving pie quartet:

Back row: Pecan Pie and Triple Chocolate Pumpkin
Front row: Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie

Thanks for stopping by!!

<3 Buttercup

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