“O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

This last Wednesday was March 14th which in homeschooling terms means 3.14  and if you are at all familiar with mathematical terms, equals Pi. So over at Parnell Academy we celebrated Pi day with a Home Ec course in making a homemade Apple Pie from scratch.

I have been making this same Apple Pie recipe for about thirteen years or so as our Thanksgiving tradition. However, last year I was a little lazy and didn’t make my homemade pie crust to go along with it. In which my husband said, it was not even close to being the same as it is with homemade pie crust. I’d have to agree!! Lesson learned!!

For the crust ingredients you will need:

• 2 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:

Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl; Cut in 1,3 cup of butter and shortening with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water until flour is moistened.

Divide dough up half; shape each half into a ball. Flatten slightly. Put one ball aside for the top of the pie. Roll out remaining dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12in. Circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to a 1/2 in from edge of pan; set aside.

 

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (I ALWAYS ADD A LITTLE EXTRA)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 Medium tart cooking apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• Teaspoon sugar

Combine all filling ingredients except apples, 1 tablespoon of butter and one teaspoon of sugar in a large bowl. After combing the listed ingredients add apples and coat evenly.

Spoon mixture into prepared crust. Roll out the remaining dough that was set aside. Fold in quarters.  Place dough over filling unfold trim, seal and crimp <— (MY FAVE PART, makes it look sooooo PRETTY!) Cut 5 or 6 large slits in crust. Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar. Cover edge of crust with a pie crust guard or two inch strip aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes at 400*; remove foil. Continue baking for 10-20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool pie for 30 minutes before serving.

And there you have it!! A homemade warm Apple Pie!!

 

Hope you enjoy,

Jessica, Emmalee, and Elizabeth