IT'S APPLE TIME!!!! YES!!! I love this time of year. It is just a great time....all the warm fall colors inside your home and out are fabulous. And the flavors of Fall....amazing! It is a great time of year to be a foodie. May not be as great for my diet but....everything in moderation!!! Every year we have our annual Apple Picking Day. We were sooooo happy that the past couple of years we had our amazing family friends "The Holls" come along with us. Let's just say....what happens in the apple orchard....stays in the apple orchard!! We had a blast. Climbing for Clusters....Throwing Contests....Corn Maze and of course the Cider Doughnuts and Chicken BBQ. We always go to Weeds Orchards in Marlboro, NY. They have it all. So much fun for everyone. But what was even more fun was coming home and baking ...APPLE PIES !!!! And the awesome APPLE FRITTERS!!!! But that's for tomorrow. Today it is all about the Apple Pie, because who doesn't love a great Apple Pie????? It's a whole week of Apples...I've got to use the three giant bags I came home with....really!!!!!
AMAZING APPLE PIE
PILLSBURY PIE CRUST 8 APPLES THINLY SLICED 1 TBLSP LEMON JUICE 1/2 CUP BROWN SUGAR 1/2 CUP WHITE SUGAR 2 TBLSP FLOUR 1 TSP CINNAMON 1/2 TSP NUTMEG 2 TBSLP BUTTER 1 EGG YOLK BEATEN ***EXTRA CINNAMON SUGAR FOR TOPPING***
Let's start by saying ....why mess with the crust. I think using the prepared Pillsbury Pie Crust is such a time saver. It is a great product, makes life so much easier, and then you can focus your time on those apples and make a whole lot of pies for everyone!!!
So let your Pillsbury Pie Crust sit on the counter and come to room temperature. It will be easier to unroll. Also, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Now, hopefully you have an Apple Peeler/Slicer/Corer to help you with this part! If you do this part will be a breeze. If you don't...well grab a knife, peel and thinly slice all the apples. While you are peeling and slicing....get all the apples into a bowl as you go. Toss them all in the lemon juice to stop them from browning. Have fun with it....Chelsea and Ashley did!!! Get the kids involved...they will love it!!
In a separate bowl your can combine both sugars, the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg!!
Pour it over the big bowl of apples and mix to coat all well!!! How easy was that???? Your filling is done!!
Warning!!! All the kids love to eat it all just like this. So either make extra apples or work quickly to get it into your pie crusts!!!
Unroll and lay one of the pie crusts down on the pie plate. Molding and fitting it in nicely all around. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork a few times. Then just drop all that apple filling right in!!!
Cut the butter into smaller pieces and place on top.
Now the top!!! Just lay the second pie crust on the top. Take both crusts into your fingers and roll together working your way all the way around the pie!! Then just press the edges with a fork for a nice uniform edge.
Prick the top 3 or 4 times with the fork again to ventilate.....
Beautiful!!! Your almost there...now for the final touches!! Brush the whole top, edges and all with the beaten egg yolk. And the best part.....sprinkle the whole top generously with a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Just put one cup of sugar in a bowl and add 1 TBLSP cinnamon and mix. This really makes the pie so sprinkle to cover well!!
Cover all edges with foil when the pie firsts goes into the oven. Very simply tear off four pieces of foil and fold up each side to cover the crust as I did.......
I recommend placing on a baking tray in the oven because it may drip over as it cooks!!
Bake for the first 20 minutes at 425 degrees...then turn the oven down to to 350 degrees for 1 hour!! You can remove the foil half way through the hours time so the edges will now have a chance to brown.
Take a look at this beauty!!!!!
Now...here's a trick. Let it cool on the counter for about an hour. Then if you refrigerate the inside will get thicker and more syrupy.....is that a word? Not sure, but you know what I mean!! I like my apple pie cold. But....if you like it with vanilla ice cream...let it cool....and dig in!!!!!
Well, we had a blast today Apple Picking and making our pies!!! We all worked very hard picking perfect apples, slicing, baking. Well most of us....some of us were just their to look pretty........HAHA!! Aren't they beautiful!!! Look at those faces!!! ENJOY!!!! ALL GOOD STUFF!!!!