Wednesday 8 October 2014

life of pie

“good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.”
jane austen


oh jane…i think we must be sisters!
we do love our apple pies! the quintessential taste of autumn.
here’s the recipe for our harvest apple pie…simple and delicious


the pastry...
 this is my sister nancy's mother in law's coveted recipe 


5 cups of all purpose flour
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
a dash of salt
1 pound of lard
1 large egg
some water
1 tablespoon of vinegar

combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
cut the lard into this mixture until it looks oatmeal-ish.
crack the egg into a small measuring cup. beat the egg then add water to make 3/4 of a cup.
 add the vinegar. mix this into the flour mixture and knead a little.
divide this into four balls... two tops and two bottoms. 
flatten slightly to form disks and wrap in plastic.
 chill for at least an hour before you roll it out for apple pie...



 the pie...
my sister’s pastry  2 disks 
5 large apples (mutsu, golden delicious, ida red) 
or 8 medium apples (cortland, spartan, macintosh) 
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice       
1/4 cup of white or brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4  teaspoon of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of flour

preheat oven to 450°f.  
place a cookie sheet in the middle of your oven.
roll out one of the disks between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to 1/8 inch thickness
 and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate. tuck it in the fridge.
 roll out the second disk to the same thickness, forming a circle.
 tuck it in the fridge too.


peel, core and slice the apples.


toss the apples with the lemon juice, sugar, spices and flour.


pour this into the pie shell.
top with the remaining pastry. trim and crimp the edges together.
 cut a few slices in the top to let the steam escape.
place on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°f 
and bake for another 40-50 ish minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. 


we use the deep dish tender flake pastry in the barn when you make a pie with us.
 especially when little hands are involved it is a very forgiving and tasty pastry.
 you can find it in the freezer at the grocery store.
 one shell for the bottom, one shell for the top.
 easy as pie!


we grew up enjoying  warm apple pie with a slice of old cheddar cheese on top.
ice cream is pretty dreamy too!  

mark still asks for apple pie instead of birthday cake.
 and he still eats pie for breakfast! 

 warm farm hugs,
laura

carl laidlaw orchards

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