There is a store not far from my home called Mom’s Apple Pie with a real mom (Betty Carr) and real apple pie. It used to be surrounded by Gravenstein apple orchards that supplied the year’s first fresh apples to all of America, until the bottom fell out of the market due to controlled atmosphere storage in Washington State—but Mom’s Apple Pie remains and the pies are as good as ever.
SERVINGS
Makes one 9-inch pie; serves 6 to 8
INGREDIENTS
Pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie (double the
recipe for “Pumpkin” Pie)
6 medium apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
13/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
11/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
11/2 teaspoons white sugar
PREPARATION
1. Prepare the pie dough, divide in half, and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. Peel, quarter, and core the apples, and thinly slice pieces lengthwise. Place the apples in a bowl. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the nutmeg, and add them to the bowl. Toss the apple slices gently with the dry ingredients until they are evenly coated.
3. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack to catch any drips.
4. Roll out one of the balls of pie dough and line a 9-inch pie pan. Place the apple mixture in the shell and sprinkle it with the lemon juice, then dot the top with the butter. Roll out the second ball of dough, place on top and trim off the excess. Crimp the top and bottom crusts together along the rim of the pie pan with the back of a fork. Mix the remaining 11/2 teaspoons of cinnamon with the white sugar. Very lightly sprinkle the top of the pie with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Prick the dough in 5 places with a fork.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350°F and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are running. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
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