Grandma's Fabulous Apple Pie

My grandmother made the best apple pie in the world. No contest, we just knew we were eating a pie that kingdoms would go to war for. When she passed away (she baked until she was 95) we all looked furiously for her recipe. Nope, there wasn't one. She had baked the pie for so many years that she didn't need anything written down to remind her. It was a favorite dessert that wasn't recorded. I have tried countless apple pie recipes, trying to recreate my grandmother's masterpiece. Most have fallen sadly short, a few were not bad and a couple were really good. This recipe is one that I really like, it's close to grandmother's. Of course, she used lard in the pie crust, this recipe calls for butter.

Ingredients

Crust

2 ¹/₂ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon sugar ¹/₂ teaspoon salt ¹/₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¹/₄ teaspoon ground nutmeg ³/₄ cup cold butter, cut into chunks 6 to 9 tablespoons cold water  

How to make

STEP 1 Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in bowl. Cut in 3/4 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened. STEP 2 Divide dough in half; shape each half into ball. Flatten slightly. Wrap each ball of dough in plastic food wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes. STEP 3 Heat oven to 400°F.

STEP 4 Roll out one ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into ungreased 9-inch pie plate; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pie plate; set aside.

Filling

¹/₂ cup sugar ¹/₄ cup firmly packed brown sugar ¹/₄ cup all-purpose flour ¹/₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¹/₂ teaspoon ground nutmeg 6 medium (6 cups) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4-inch 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon sugar     STEP 5 Combine all filling ingredients except apples, 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl. Add apples; toss lightly to coat using a rubber spatula. Spoon apple mixture into prepared crust. STEP 6 Roll remaining ball of dough into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold. Trim, seal and crimp or flute edge. Cut 5 or 6 large slits in crust. Brush with melted 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar. Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip aluminum foil. STEP 7 Bake 35 minutes; remove foil. Continue baking 10-20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool pie 30 minutes; serve warm. Refrigerate any leftovers. Here is another dessert that just cries out for ice cream. You can also whip up some cream and top the pie with fresh whipped cream. Old timers in rural areas will tell you the best way to eat apple pie is to have it in a bowl with lightly warmed heavy cream poured over the top. Calorie heavy but I have tried it and loved it.