Today is National Apple Pie Day in America. And of course, I'm baking an Apple Pie to celebrate! For some time now, I've been collecting pie pans made from various materials: glass, metal, ceramic, aluminum... For today's holiday, I'm trying out my new pink pie pan for the first time.
There are numerous pie recipes, and I'm still experimenting with them. Today, I'm trying the All-American Double Crust recipe from Ken Haedrich's "Apple Pie Perfect" for the pie crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 170 g cold butter
- 60 g Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening
- 1/2 cup cold water
For a successful pie crust, using cold ingredients is crucial. It's best to grate the butter directly from the freezer into the flour. Don't knead the dough for too long, as it can warm up. And before rolling out the dough, let it chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. All of this ensures that the crust turns out tender and flaky.
The apples for an Apple Pie should be slightly sweet and tart. You can use a mix of different apple varieties. However, today I'm making a pure Granny Smith apple pie. With the apple peeling machine, you can quickly peel and slice a variety of apples. The chopped apple slices are mixed with lemon juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, apple pie spice, and flour, then placed into the pie crust.
The Apple Pie bakes for 20 minutes at 210°C (410°F). Then, I'll place a pie crust shield on top and bake it for another 40 minutes at 160°C (320°F). The aluminum crust shield prevents the crust from drying out or burning. After baking, let the pie sit for a bit, then serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!
