Wholesome Wednesday (Apple Pie)

What is more wholesome than apple pie?  Oh, probably a lot of things, but I love the comforting feeling of warm apple pie.  Last week, while my mom was visiting, she told me her recipe.  I have always loved my mom's apple pie, and every time I tried to make it, it flopped.  My crust was too soggy, or burnt on top, or the apples weren't quite right.  Well, I volunteered to make an apple pie for Adam's feast at school, and as long as mom was visiting, I recruited her help.  The hardest part of making this recipe was getting my mom's measurements, she just "eye balls" the ingredients.  So I had to stop her and measure so I could be accurate in relaying the information.

I think my problem all these years was I tried to be too fancy.  I would attempt to make my own crust, or add extra flavoring to the filling.  I learned the key, is keep it simple. We used a boxed pie crust, for convenience sake, some apples, cinnamon, sugar, flour, butter, and milk.  The outcome was delicious. Adam's teacher even remarked it reminded her of her grandmother's pie.  When I told my mom that, she laughed and said well the recipe is what her mom and grandmother made, and now it is my tradition too.

Now I know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I don't expect you to rush out and make this pie. But perhaps for another holiday and just a special dinner, give it a try.

recipe

1 box refrigerated pie crust (two 9" crusts)
6 to 8 medium to large apples, pick a variety
1/2 c. sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 to 3 tablespoons of milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Allow the pie crust to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  Place one crust in the bottom of deep dish pie plate.   Then peel, core and slice apples.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and apples.  Toss gently until all the apples are coated with sugar.  Pour mixture into pie crust and dot with butter.  Top the pie with the other pie crust and crimp the edges.  Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the pie with milk. Make a few slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape.  Bake for 1 hour or until apples are tender. (insert a knife into the slits to check the apples)