Winning Apple Pie Recipes 1st Place
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. level salt
- 1/2 lb. lard
- 4-6 tbsp. cold water
Filling
- 7 cups cut-up apples (I recommend Granny Smith or Jonathan apples)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 rounded tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 1 stick butter
- 1 level tsp flour
Instructions
Crust
- Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut small teaspoon-sized pieces of lard into the flour (about 5 pieces at a time), with a hand pastry cutter or fork.
- When all the lard is worked into flour (should have a crumble-like look) start adding cold water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until flour mixture pulls away from sides of the bowl.
- Separate dough into 2 equals parts, cover, and refrigerate while preparing apples.
- Note: This crust recipe is enough for two 9" apple pies, and the leftover dough can be frozen.
Filling
- In a large bowl, add apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and water. Stir well.
- Cut tiny pieces of butter into apples, using 2/3 of the stick.
- Sprinkle flour over apple mixture and stir and toss well. Cover and set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Using 1/2 of dough mixture, separate into 2 equal pieces.
- Flour rolling surface and dough lightly, and roll out 1 crust for the bottom, and place in pie pan.
- Add apple mixture.
- Cut remaining butter into small pats and place on apples
- Roll out crust for top of pie. Place over apples. When the top crust is trimmed and pinched shut, cut several slits in it.
- Bake at 375ºF for about 70 minutes OR until crust is a light/medium golden brown.
Variations
- – About 5 minutes before pie is to come out of oven, lightly coat top crustwith melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven for final 5minutes.– Once pie is completely cooled, prepare a powdered sugar drip glaze frosting (2/3 cup powdered sugar in 1 –2 tablespoons milk). Drizzle over top of cool apple pie.