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pie for
you,
pie for me
3 classic pies for the holidays
by Yee-Fan Sun | 1
2 3 4 5
continued from page 1
apple
pie
I'm an
equal-opportunity pie-eater, but if I really had to pick a favorite, I'd
have to go with the good ol' all-American apple pie. So very simple, so
utterly delicious. And the leftovers make a very tasty breakfast too.
ingredients
2 basic piecrusts (you can
either double the ingredients and divide the dough by two, or make two
separate batches; personally I prefer the latter, as I find it easier to
work with this dough in smaller quantities)
filling
9 cups of thinly sliced apple (this can require anywhere between 6 to 12
apples, depending upon how big or puny your fruits are… it will look
like quite a lot when you pile them in initially, but you'll find the
apples shrink down a lot as they cook)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tsps. cornstarch, or 2 Tbsp. instant tapioca
topping
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1
Make your piecrust dough and
chill in the fridge.
2
While the dough is chilling, make up the filling. Peel, core and slice
apples until you have about nine well-packed cups worth of apple. Slide
the apples into a big mixing bowl. Toss with the brown sugar, white
sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch/tapioca.
3
Preheat the oven to 450F.
4
If your dough isn't already divided, cut it in two. Take one portion and
roll out a big circle for the bottom crust; it should be large enough to
cover the whole bottom of the pie pan, and hang over at least an inch
all around. Transfer it to your pie pan, and press it into place. Trim
any excess crust so you have a more or less even 1" overhang all
around. Save the scraps.
5
Pile in the apple mixture; it should make a generous mound, and be
higher in the middle than at the edges.
6
Roll out the second portion of the dough into another big circle; make
sure it's plenty large to cover the pile o' apples. After draping the
rolled-out dough over the filling, tuck the excess under the edges of
the bottom crust (if there's a lot of excess dough, you might want to
trim it away before tucking it under). Pinch the dough together to seal
the two crusts, then decorate the edge by fluting or crimping.
7
Now remember those scraps you saved earlier? Roll those out. Use a sharp
paring knife to cut the dough into decorative shapes -- apples or leaves
work well for Thanksgiving, but you can make whatever suits your fancy.
Of course, if you have cookie cutters on hand, you can save yourself
some effort by making use of those, but I like having the excuse to
exercise my artsy-fartsy urges.
8
Arrange the shapes on top of the pie however you like. Once you're happy
with where they sit, you'll need to cut some slits in the pie to create
steam vents (as the apples cook down, they'll release a lot of water in
the form of steam; if you don't have vents in the crust, the steam will
be trapped inside). I generally cut about 5 long slits into the crust.
Now combine the cinnamon and sugar for the topping in a small bowl.
Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with milk, and sprinkle the
cinnamon sugar on top.
9
Place the pie on top of a big baking sheet (this will catch any juices
that spill over … for even easier clean-up, you can line the sheet
with foil) and slide it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 450F. Lower
heat to 350F and bake for another hour. The pie should be a gorgeous
golden brown at this point; slide a paring knife into one of the steam
vents, and the tip should go easily through the filling.
keep
on moseying kids!
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