Homemade Apple Pie

Tonight was Morgan's choice for dessert and he chose Apple Pie with homemade crust... Yum!  Click on the photo to see it bigger... can't you just smell it?!  I hate to admit this, but my family of five can finish off this entire pie in one night.  Funny thing is, if my daddy were here, I think I'd have to make TWO pies!

Apple Pie
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (I grind mine fresh!)

Combine the above and set aside.

7 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Double Pie Crust (homemade recipe below)
1 Tbsp. butter
1 egg white - beat until foamy
1 Tbsp. sugar

Toss the apples with lemon juice.  Add the sugar mixture and toss to coat and pour into the bottom crust.  Dot with butter, place second crust on top, and poke holes to vent.  Brush the top with the foamy egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.  Increase temperature to 400 and bake 10-15 minutes more until golden.

Double Pie Crust
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 sticks cold butter (cringe now, but you'll get over it when you taste the end result!)
6 Tbsp ice water


Whisk the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl.  With a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Drizzle 4-6 Tbsp ice water over the flour.  Mix with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.  I use my hands toward the end to incorporate all the flour and knead it into a large ball.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough ball in half and roll the two smaller balls out to form your bottom and top crust.  Below is my technique for rolling out pie crust - it's easy, not messy, and makes a wonderfully thin crust that is very manageable:

Lay out a piece of wax paper on a counter or bread board.  Place the chilled dough-ball in the center and smash lightly with the palm of your hand.  Place another piece of wax paper on top and then begin to roll the dough with a roller.  After a couple of rolls, peel the top paper off, lay it down again, flip it all over, peel the bottom paper off, and lay it back on the dough again.  Then roll a couple more times.  Continue doing this until the crust is thin and large enough to cover your pie plate.  When it's ready, simply remove the top paper, and use the bottom paper to transfer your perfect crust to your pie plate, flip it over onto the plate, and peel off the paper.  Voila!