Apple Pie

As easy as apple pie? Not really.

I made one last night - and it is really quite good - however, apple pies have this weird tendency to separate from the top crust - as the apples cook, they shrink - so if you pile the apples up way high before it's baked, you end up with an inch of apples and a large attic above between the apples and the crust. Elise at Simply Recipes has an answer for this - she has a lot of good ideas - this one was obvious, but most good ideas are simple!

The answer is to cook the apples in advance - since they will already be shrunken, they won't shrink further and the pie will come out as expected! It should work for any recipe - I will try it next time I make apple pie!

1 pie crust for double pie

5 pounds of apples (mostly cooking apples - Granny Smith, Golden Delicious), peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoons flour - maybe

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice (instead of lemon juice you could use a tablespoon of brandy or a tsp of vanilla)

a bit of lemon zest from above lemon

2 tablespoons butter


Mix the sugars and spices together with the lemon zest

Add apples.

Transfer apples to a large, thick-bottomed covered pan or Dutch oven and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are just tender when poked with a fork, but still hold their shape - about 15 to 20 minutes -

But not so long for the apples to turn into applesauce!

Put the apples in a colander over a bowl to drain excess liquid.

Drain off as much juice as possible.

Let the apples cool, then place in the bottom crust.

Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with the butter.

Put on the top crust, cut venting slits - so crust won't be soggy and bake at 450F about 15 minutes - on a baking sheet.

Reduce heat to 375F for another 30 minutes or until the crust is brown and the filling bubbling through the vents.

As you can see, apple pies are variable - not to be repetitive - but all cooking is creative. Try a very little bit of cloves, allspice, ginger. The main difference in this pie is the precooking of the apples - the rest is open to negotiation!