I’m always searching of the perfect pie crust; I think I may have found it. I liked the flavor of it, since it’s made with both Crisco and butter. My son Danny just told me that he thought it was amazing, so I’ll probably stick with this recipe, at least for awhile.
crust:
3 cups unbleached organic flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 tablespoons frozen salted butter
8 tablespoons crisco (that’s refrigerated)
8 tablespoons ice water
Put flour in food processor fitted with a metal blade. Sprinkle salt over. Then put cut up butter over flour and crisco over as well. Pulse till you can still see some pieces of butter throughout. Pour water over, and pulse till dough comes together. Dump on clean surface (I use a marble slab) and divide into 2 pieces, one being larger by about 2 oz. for the top crust).
Flatter each into a round disk and refrigerate wrapped separately in waxed paper or parchment paper for a few hours or overnight.
apple filling:
apples – about 12 medium to large apples- I use a variety of baking apples either from my local orchard, Terhune Orchards near Princeton, or from
Whole Foods.
scant 3/4 cup granulated sugar
about 1 1/2 teaspoons organic cinnamon (you many need 2 teaspoons to taste)
about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch or flour (I used cornstarch this time)
dash kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter, broken up for dotting over the top
Roll out smaller bottom crust, using enough flour to prevent sticking. Place carefully in 9 to 9 1/2 inch pie dish. Then spoon apples and most of the macerated cinnamon-lemon juice in. Dot with about 2 tablespoons butter. Then stick this in fridge while you roll out top crust. After you roll out the top crust, carefully place over the apple filling. Brush crust with a mixture of 1 egg and about 1 1/2 teaspoon milk or light cream (I used the light cream). Then refrigerate or freeze for baking later. I freeze it uncovered for about 30 minutes before I wrap it up to give the egg wash some time to freeze.
Before baking, put about 6 slits in the top for venting purposes.I bake it frozen at 375 degrees for about 1 hour and 10 minutes on lowest possible position in the oven till the crust is nice and golden, and just before the juices start to erupt.
