The Final Apple Pie

Last weekend, our house became a palace of sick. Three of the four of us were hit hard with viruses and ear infections. My mother had to come to the rescue, staying with us for four days, until I was strong enough to return to work and the kids to head back to school. Needless to say, we did not make an apple pie last weekend. I'm not even sure we all ate last weekend. As a result, our September Apple Pie-a-Thon ended today with a recipe from yet another children's book.

This book, How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, takes the reader on a journey across the globe to find ingredients for the perfect apple pie, with a great recipe at the end. This was, by far, the best pie. It's all the crust. It was a marvelous crust. So buttery and so light, this crust rivaled those I've tasted in many a great patisserie. I made the crust in my food processor (so my version appears in parentheses.)

We had a fantastic time this month, my Remi and I, making the most of September's great harvest. Enjoy, and please excuse us. We have some pumpkin recipes to sort through...

You need:

For the crust

2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, cut into small chunks (kept very cold)
1/2 c. ice water
1 egg yolk

For the filling

5-7 apples (we used Galas), peeled and sliced
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter


Stir flour and salt together in a bowl (or pulse briefly in the food processor until mixed.) Quickly rub small pieces of cold butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the bits are the size of peas (or slowly drop into the food processor and pulse briefly after each one). Add the ice water, slowly, a tablespoon at a time until enough is added to moisten the dough and it pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, place on wax paper, form two equal patties, fold up in the wax paper, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Toss the apples into the sugar mixture until well coated. When the hour is up, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out, into 10 in. circles, each crust. Gently grease the bottom of the pie plate and then add the bottom crust. Arrange the apple slices in the pie pan, piling them higher in the center. Dot with butter. Moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water. Cover the pie with the top crust, trim the edge, then pinch top and bottom edges together. Cut some vents in the top. To glaze the crust, mix an egg yolk with a tablespoon of water. Brush the mixture over the surface of the top crust. Bake 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.