Lily Vail’s Famous Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
Ronnie's Notes
My mom’s best! It’s simple, lightly seasoned, and not overly sweet.
Difficulty: Challenging
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine the apple slices, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and flour in a large bowl.
Toss the ingredients to coat all the apple slices.
Lightly flour a pastry board or a clean work surface.
With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 1/8" thick, making sure the circle is larger than the pie pan by about 1 inch.
If the dough sticks, use more flour on the board.
Place the dough in a 9” or 10” pie pan.
Pour the apple filling into the dough-lined pan.
Cut the butter into small pieces and dot the top of the filling with it.
Roll out the remaining dough and place it over the filling.
Gently press the bottom and top crusts together along the flared edge of the pie pan.
For a fluted rim, press your thumb and index finger against the outside of the rim, or crimp it with the tines of a fork or the blunt side of a knife.
(If the edge seems too thick, trim some of the dough.) Cut steam vents in the top crust with the tip of a sharp knife, or use the tines of a fork.
Bake the pie 50– or until the crust is golden brown.
Here are some interesting facts about apple pie: • The best apples to use for pie are Rhode Island Greening, Granny Smiths, Gravenstein, Newton Pippin, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Stayman, Winesap, Baldwin, Jonagold and Braeburn.and • You need only the simplest seasoning; otherwise, you may overwhelm the delicate flavor of the apples.
If you prefer additional flavoring, add 1/2 tsp.
nutmeg or 1 tsp.
freshly grated lemon peel.
• For a change you can add 1 cup raisins or other cut-up dried fruit or 1 cup cranberries.
(If you include cranberries, increase the sugar to 1 cup.) • You can freeze apple pie for several months.
Double wrap it in plastic wrap.
Thaw the pie completely, and then warm it in a preheated 375°F oven for to freshen the crust.
If you make the pie in a glass pan, you can defrost it in a microwave.
• You can top pie with a streusel crust instead of pie dough.
See the following recipe for Blueberry Crumb Pie.