Honestly, I could go on and on about all of the reasons I love eating pie, and making pie, and love my grandma, but I will try and keep it short. My grandmother and I have a lot in common, but I feel deeply rooted to her in two ways; sewing and pie-making. Actually, I have been told many times that I’m an “old-soul” and that I act like an “old lady,” but Birdbelly husband said its only because I’m just like her, which is such an incredible compliment.

I know I was about 7 when I first started sewing with her, but I don’t remember how young I was when I first started making pie. I suspect it went something like this: Young Jenna tastes Custard Pie for the first time; fireworks, light bulbs, starry eyes, and drooling commence; movie montage and big explosion and… “GRANDMA! You MUST show me how to make this!!” Then she did, because frankly she let me do whatever I wanted when I was young and cute. I always told her, “I have daddy wrapped around this finger, and you wrapped around this one, and I have 8 more.”

Truthfully what I love about pie-making (other than pie being delicious), is how simple it can be with enough practice, and how big of a statement it makes. It is truly a labor of love, and the end result is so beautiful, yet only you know how easy it was. It’s also so versatile, you can make pie out of nearly anything, sweet, savory, fruit, pudding, and list is endless.

The Pie Queen herself (grandma) has always said: “I like two kinds of pies, one-crust pies and two-crust pies, but my real favorite is Apple.” So when the Pie Queen had a birthday on Labor Day, I had to make her favorite one, and that’s the recipe I have for you today; [Grandma’s] Apple Pie!

The Process:

I always start by making the pie dough. I am crust biased, I always use my grandmother’s recipe AKA Pie Queen, and she is always willing to share her recipe. Find it here. Follow the recipe until you have your ball of dough, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat Oven to 375.

In a large bowl, add the lemon juice. Then peel, core, and cut your apples. Grandma said you can really use any kind of apple, but I think crisp apples are best. For this, I used all Granny Smith. Each apple should be cut into 16 pieces. The lemon juice is just so your apples do not brown as you peel the others, so occasionally toss the apples in the bowl as you peel them just so the juice does its job.

Once all of your apples are ready, add sugars, spices, salt, and flour to the bowl and stir. While you roll out the top crust your mixture will have time to thicken and set.

On a floured surface, cut your ball of dough in half, and roll out the first half and transfer to a greased pie pan. I trim the edges at this point as my pan is already fluted, but you can leave them until you get the top crust on the pie to create an edge design.

Next, pour the apple mixture into the pan, getting all the juices and sugar into the pan with it. I like to leave the apples a bit more rustic and let them lay as they fall, but sometimes you need to adjust to fit them in a bit better. You can also place them all meticulously in a design-go crazy! Then set it aside while you roll out the top.

Then start on your top crust. I like the look of a lattice so that is what I went with, but you can do a full crust with a few slits (for air release). Again, on a floured surface roll out the top crust. Cut into strips if you are forming a lattice and lay over the apples, weaving in and out.

Make an egg wash with one egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush over your top crust and sprinkle with sugar. This will give you that gorgeous, picture perfect golden color you want.

Place your pie pan on a cookie sheet, and loosely cover the top with foil. Don’t press the foil down on the pie, tent it. Bake for 25 minutes covered, then remove the foil and bake another 20-25 minutes until done. You will see it bubbling under your lattice (sooooo pretty).

Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy! Best A La Mode!

Recipe:

xoxo,

birdbelly