Apple Picking + Nana + Mama Angela

As a kid, I remember absolutely loving going to Eckert's Farm to pick apples. Why? Well, I love to eat. I would rebel and eat apples that I picked, and then BEG for all of the treats at the store from apple cider to candy apples. Regardless of what treats I ended up getting, we ALWAYS came home with A LOT of apples. What to do with all of these delicious pieces of nature's candy? Mama Angela would make mouth watering apple sauce, but what I really loved was my Nana's apple pie. 

Mama Angela and I continue her tradition of baking delicious pies. In honor of Pie Month, Mama Angela and I took a pie making class at the Kitchen Conservatory where we made a delicious apple pie. Mama Angela proclaims it was the best pie made in the class. This pie was a double crust with apples soaked in an apple juice reduction and all of the quintessential fall spices.

My soulmate best friend, Jordan, gifted me Mary Berry's "Baking Bible", so I absolutely HAD to try Mary's Classic Apple Pie. This is a single crust, which goes over the apples. I modified the recipe a bit by adding two more tablespoons of water to the dough to keep the dough from falling apart like it did on my trial run and sprinkling a teaspoon each of ground cloves and cinnamon. This pie tasted like I was eating apple cider. It was not too sweet, but it still tasted heavenly.

Mary Berry's Classic Apple Pie (with my modifications)

For the filling:

• 
  

1.5 lb of apples

• 
  

3 oz sugar

• 
  

1 teaspoon of ground cloves 

• 
  

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (Enough cloves and cinnamon to cover the apples)

• 
  

3 tablespoons of cold water

For the pastry:

• 6 oz plain flour

• 1.5 oz cold diced butter (I cut up the butter and then placed in the freezer until I absolutely needed to use it)

• 1.5 oz white vegetable fat (I used Crisco)

• 4 tablespoons of cold water

• Egg wash to glaze 

• Sugar for sprinkling

1. Peel, core, and slice apples. Place half of the sliced apples in the bottom of a pie pan. Sprinkle with sugar, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Cover with remaining apples and add water.

1. For the pastry: Measure flour into a bowl and add the diced butter and white vegetable fat. Using your fingertips or a dough mixing tool or a food processor, mix the dough until you see lima bean-sized chunks. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time until a dough forms.

2. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until it is a size that would cover the pie pan. Place the dough over the pie pan and trim the edges. If enough dough is leftover, you can cut out shapes to place on the dough. I used small leaf-shaped cookie cutters from Crate and Barrell. Chill the pie in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar. Make small slits at the center of the pie to allow steam to escape. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is a pale golden color. Check about halfway through to make sure the edges of the crust are not burning. Place foil or crust  covers over the edges to prevent further browning. 

4. ENJOY!
   

You can find Mary's recipe online:https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/classic-apple-pie 

You can find more classes at the Kitchen Conservatory here: http://www.kitchenconservatory.com 

Check out all of the things you don't need but will think you need after reviewing: https://www.crateandbarrel.com