Camille’s Cooking: Apple pie

October 30, 2013 Editorial Staff

Photo courtesy of Camille Orrichio Loccisano

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BY CAMILLE ORRICHIO LOCCISANO

It is that great time of year when we just want to indulge in scrumptious desserts that bring forth those harvest flavors, and many of us like to bake up pumpkin-flavored treats. However, that only takes care of a few evenings with a steaming cup of coffee during October and November.

When our corner of the world is just so smashingly beautiful with the autumn leaves falling from the trees, we also need, (yes, NEED) a warm smooth slice of homemade Apple Pie.

My love of pies comes from my dad. He was the baker extraordinaire in our home, and he always had a rule that pies should be very high! I like that rule, but I could never understand it.

As an adult, I can now see his reasoning. A high pie makes for more mouth-watering filling and more tempting, golden brown, flaky crust.

When making a piecrust from scratch, always use cold ingredients. I also take my tools, the bowl and my pastry cutter and chill them as well. The ideal is for everything to be ice cold. When baking, halfway through, cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent over browning.
HIGH APPLE PIE

8 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

In a bowl, toss the apples with lemon juice, cornstarch, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place apples in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Roll out piecrust dough on a floured work surface and fit it into the pie plate. Layer half the apples into the crust, and dot with half of the butter. Layer the remaining apples into the pie. Dot the remaining butter on top.

Roll out the remaining piecrust dough and place carefully over the apples. Pinch the edges to seal the crusts together. Cut slits in the top crust. Mix the egg yolk and milk and brush the top crust. Sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake for one hour in preheated oven at 350°F. Cool at least two hours on a wire rack before serving.

PIE CRUST
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons flour, plus extra for rolling
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup very cold butter, cut into pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Cut in vegetable shortening and butter with a pastry cutter until small lumps form. Sprinkle in water, one tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry dough almost cleans side of bowl.

Add an additional teaspoon or two of ice water if necessary. The ingredients should not bind together completely. On a floured work surface, form pastry dough into two separate balls and flatten out the shape. With a floured rolling pin, roll pastry two inches larger than the pie plate.