#166 Apple Pie

My daughter believes that every body loves apple pie, because it is too good! The marriage of cinnamon, nutmeg, tart apples and sugar is simply irresistible. I made my grain-free and crust free version of "apple pie" after I made this but gobbled it  all even before I could take pictures! LOL!  My daughter loved this recipe and this was my first time making it! The lattice work upper crust was a little bit challenging, but with a lot of patience, it looked like this in the end:

If it's your first time, making it look like this can be tricky in the beginning, but you will soon figure it out. It reminded me of my days back in the islands. Every summer, the neighborhood kids (myself included), gathered to build a makeshift shelter from twigs and fallen coconut leaves. There were no video games, no good shows on TV, so we went out to entertain ourselves. We wove the coconut leaves to create walls, and roof and then we'd attach it to a small tree, we worked for days until it's complete and then we'd boil bananas in there too using fire and pots, our aunties and maids hoping we don't start a huge fire in smoldering and humid 100+ F degree weather... Fun times. That experience came handy as I was trying to figure out how to make lattice apple pie crust. :) I used my fingers to create the patterns on the edges. 

It is suggested to use tart apples for Apple Pie. Or ones that are considered "culinary apples", they are more acidic and crispier. Examples are: Bramley, Empire, Northern Spy or Granny Smith. I chose organic Granny Smith apples for this pie because among the list, it was the only one available at Safeway, and although I used the organic variety, it is not necessary that you buy organic. I just choose to eat organic as much as possible.

I also learned that there are different styles of Apple Pie. The traditional Dutch Apple Pie comes in two varieties: a crumb, and a lattice style pie.  A recipe in the late medieval Dutch cookbook 'Een notabel boecxken van cokeryen' is almost identical to modern Apple Pie recipe such as the one I used. Dutch apple pies may contain: full cream butter, raisins and almond paste. Those are not used in this pie.  There are also the English Pudding Style, French Style, Swedish Style and American Style. I will have to do more research on the different varieties. Read more here, but the information on that website may not be completely accurate...please feel free to leave a comment to educate us on the history of apple pie. We'd appreciate it!

And guess what? We found an organic ready-made pie crust at Safeway! It made the process of learning so much easier. I still have not invested in a KitchenAid mixer, a staple in every enthusiastic cook's kitchen. So making my own crust from scratch seemed daunting at the time. We grabbed and used this, and my daughter said, "It tasted like normal crust". :)

Okay,  are you ready to make your own apple pie? Here's how:

APPLE PIE 

Ingredients: 

2 ready made rolled crusts (1 box) for 9" pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white bakers sugar

1/2 cup baked brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

8-10 granny smith apples 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Peel, core and slice the apples. In a large bowl, place apples, sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well, making sure all apples are well-coated.
3. In a pan, add butter in low heat. Once melted, stir in flour.
4. Add water, white and brown sugar and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 3 minutes or until sugar is melted.
5. In a 9" pan, place the bottom crust. Add the apples, pile up slightly.
6. Cover with a lattice work crust.
7. Pour the melted butter and sugar over the crust carefully.
8. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F, then reduce the temperature to 350 F and then bake for another 40 minutes or until the apples are soft.
9. Serve warm and enjoy with Vanilla Ice cream (highly recommended!)

It is so easy to make, it is the first of many!

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 199 more recipes!199 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!

 Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress!

xo V.