A couple weeks ago JD and I were driving home and I asked him what he wanted. It was a random question, but it just popped into my head. And since I don't have a filter, I usually ask whatever comes to mind. This has led to awkward situations, but let's keep that for a different post. When I asked JD, he turned to me and said, I'd like for you to make a homecooked meal.
And then I was all, Dude, I was trying to be deep and stuff. Why you gotta go THERE?
In the days that have passed, I've bought kitchen items (a julian peeler, quiche tins, a pirate-shaped spatula), but have yet to produce a meal. I actually like the art of eating, but cooking kinda throws a kink in my plans. When my friend Amy offered to teach me how to make an apple pie, I took her up because I wanted to make JD's wildest dreams come true. And I wanted to buy a pie dish.
In case you'd like to make a pie as well, feel free to join me on this journey…
You should start with seven medium sized apples, peeled and cut into 1/16 pieces. We used Honeycrisp apples and they were perrrrrfect.
Part of Amy's secret is mixing white and brown sugar. I guess I just gave away her secret. Sorry, Amy! 😉
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup of Flour
Amy then asked me to add 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon.
I opened the top of seasoning container and Amy yelped before I made the pour. Jasmine, that's CARDAMOM!
You see?! This is why I should be banished from every kitchen.
But, really, is it not a mistake ANYONE COULD MAKE?!?
Once you've added everything to the apples, lightly mix.
Now onto the crust!
In a medium bowl, mix two cups of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add 2/3 cup of shortening (plus two more tablespoons…Amy says that's another tip!) and mix with a fork.
You want the mixture to take the appearance of peas. Slowly mix in 4-5 tablespoons of water, on slowly added intervals. Now here's another secret! Make sure the water is ice water. Amy gets a few ice cubes into a cup and adds water, then spoons it out accordingly. You should then get a pastry ball that looks like this:
Once you have the pastry ball, cut in half. Better yet…if you can cut it at a 55/45 ratio, you're in good shape. You need a little more for pie crust, than the top.
Amy usually rolls her pie crust on cheese cloth, but since I'm ghetto fab, I simply handed her a new dish towel and insisted it'd be fine. And guess what? IT WAS.
Roll the slightly larger half of dough into a circle (mine was more oblong, but it's neither here nor there), then roll it onto the pin so you can then unfold it into the pie dish. It's much easier than trying to place the dough into the dish by hand.
You should probably preheat your oven to 425 right about now.
Now for another of Amy's secrets…yes, she's gonna LOVE me for sharing them! 😉
Slice about two tablespoons of butter into five slices. Place the butter slices on top of the pie. This is just meant for an extra dose of awesomeness. And lead to an early cardiac arrest, but it's worth it. Trust me.
Roll out the second piece of dough and place it on top of the apple mixture…like so…
Once the pie is sealed, trim extra crust from the edges then use your fingers to create a fancy edge. You know, anything that makes it look like you can win an award.
Cut 4-5 slits in the top of the pie (this will help prevent bubbling and allow steam to escape). The slits also make you look fancy when the pie is removed from the oven and steam fills the air. So Betty Crocker.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
This is my very first homemade pie. TAH-DAH!
Sure, it's a little crispy at the edges, but I say that's personality! We let the pie cool over dinner then served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And then convinced myself calories don't count on Tuesdays. Ever.
Happy Making A Pie Day!
