As Easy as Apple Pie!

A simple apple pie recipe. Yes, even you can bake a pie!

© Devorah Stone

Aug 11, 2006

Apple Pie, Wikipedia Commons

Late Summer and all of fall is apple season. Here's an easy apple pie recipe so you can start baking those pies!

Take advantage of all those wonderful in season apples and our simple apple pie recipe and bake a pie. The best apples for baking are McIntosh or Spartan. It's easier than you think. Here are some easy alternatives to pies and some real simple pie crusts anyone can make.

For a long time the bane of my existence was pie crust. My mother created amazing pie crusts. Works of art all puffed out and evenly brown. "It's so easy." She would intone. She tried a few times to show me how to make the pie crust but alas it never worked. She put her rolling pins in the freezer. She used ice water. Voila! Perfect golden brown evenly spread pie crust! When I did the same thing following the same instructions by pie crust dough flaked apart into nothing. At best it looked liked a poorly made burlap patch work quilt. I despaired how I could call myself a cook if I couldn't make pie crusts? My mother-in-law had a solution - Apple bundies or crisps.

Here's a variation on her recipe. It's so simple and easy you can get the kids to help you out. It's also healthy.

APPLE CRUMBLE

Here's a classic apple crumble the whole family can make together. A crumble topping is easier and faster than a traditional pie -crust but just as good. It's a good dish to make for two or more people; one person can do the topping while the other does the filling.

Preheat oven to 375.

FILLING:

  • 1 cup berries in season blueberry , raspberry or black berries or pealed plums or diced rhubarb
  • 2 cups grated or chopped apples (Mackintosh or Spartan)
  • 1-tablespoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar (4 tablespoons if you are using blackberries or rhubarb)Peal and cut apples (and dice rhubarb if using them) Mix berries, rhubarb, or plums with apples. Measure cinnamon and brown sugar and add to fruit mixture. Stir well.Set aside.TOPPING:
  • 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 cup All-Purpose flour
  • 1-tablespoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable shorteningMeasure and mix flour and rolled oats. Cut in vegetable shortening with a dull knife and/or fork till mixture is crumbling. Press half this mixture in the base of a pan. (Make those hands or clean, first!) Covering the bottom and a little of the sides.Pour fruit mixture over the bottom crust. Sprinkle rest of dry mixture on top.Put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.APPLE KUGEL So instead of Apple pie try a kugel a lot easier to make. It's an old Eastern European dish.Ingredients:
  • 5 large apples peeled and sliced thin
  • 1/4 pound melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon saltBlend all ingredients well. Pour into greased 9 x 9 pan and bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Serve hot.Variation: Try topping the kugel with cornflake crumbs mixed with cinnamon and sugar or with pineapple slices sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.MOM'S EASY AS PIENow my mother doesn't always make pie crusts from scratch every time. Sometimes she cheats and buys puff pastry from the freezer department she thaws it out - never in the microwave - and rolls it out.Here's my mother's easy apple pie recipe:
  • 8 medium apples (Spartan or Mackintosh)
  • ½ cup strawberry jam
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tsp cinnamonMix the above ingredients place in oven safe pie dish. Cover filling with rolled out puff pastry. Brush pie crust with:
  • ¼ cup water (more if needed)
  • 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamonCut slits in pie crust. Put in oven at 350 F until golden brown.MOM'S STRUDEL My mother also makes strudel using the same apple mixture as the pie filling.Above apple pie filling mixturePuff pastryCut the puff pastry width wise and roll out both halves. Place all but 1/8 cup of the apple pie filling mixture in the middle of the puff pastries making sure you have at least 3 inches on all sides. Fold sides over the apple pie filling mixture. Mash up the rest of the apple pie filling mixture brush it on top of puff pastry. Cut slits in the puff pastry. Put in oven at 350 F till golden brown.MY SON'S FLAKY PIE CRUST But for those of you who haven't given up on making pie crust here's a recipe my 11 year old son figured out. He was so determined to make pie crust and to show me it could be done he came up with his own techniques. If you like a real flakey crusts rather than a smooth one this recipe is for you. You will need a bent spoon (we took a normal teaspoon and bend it) and a pastry blender. This is a two people recipe though so get your child or husband to help you out. Use my mother's apple pie filling mixture for this pie's filling.Ingredients:
  • 2 ½ cups all - purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shortening (straight out of the fridge)
  • 6 teaspoons of ice waterTake out ice cubes.Whisk the flour and salt together. Cut in the shortening with the pastry blender till its all crumbs.Take the bent spoon pour the melted ice water into the spoon. Sprinkle the water evenly over the flour mixture while continuing to blend the flour.Carefully gather dough and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for a minimum of one hour but the longer the better. Over night gave us the best results.Roll out on floured board and then put on pie!Here is Michael Vyskocil apple pie recipe.EASY APPLE PIE
  • 5 firm, tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 round Pastry Dough for a one-crust pie (recipe follows)
  • 1/4 cup apple jelly
  • Milk, for glaze1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Mound apple mixture into center of pastry dough. Pull the outside edges of the pastry up around mound, leaving a small circle (about 3 inches in diameter) in the middle of the pie. Fold edges against each other, and press firmly into the apples.3. Cover pie with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Remove pie from oven and spread 1/4 cup of apple jelly over exposed filling. Then brush crust with milk. Return pie to oven, uncovered, and bake for another 15 minutes until crust is golden and filling is tender. Let cool slightly before serving.How About Dem Apples? This is from his Apples Sweet Fruit of Autumn article.Apple pie with a twistApple Sauce CakeYou can also try Jaqueline Church's Layoff Pie More Pie recipesBaking IndexFruit IndexPlease take my poll at Seasonal Cooking.

    • The copyright of the article As Easy as Apple Pie! in Fall Recipes is owned by Devorah Stone. Permission to republish As Easy as Apple Pie! must be granted by the author in writing.




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