Maple Apple Pie

It has been awhile since I made a pie, and with the changing of the seasons it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make an apple pie. Now that the orchards are back open and the super market is stocked with 12 kinds of apples, at least, it is apple baking season. It's also almost crafting season, so to ease back into that cool weather hobby, I decided to do a little cooking-crafting combo, by replacing the usual lattice top, with leaf cut outs. I made the cut outs from card stock and then "traced" them onto the rolled out pie dough with a sharp knife. And voilà, you have a leaf-topped Maple Apple pie.

Don't forget to check out my entry for Project Food Blog and vote for me!



Pie Crust (makes 2 crusts, or one double crust:
2 1/2 cups of flour,
2 sticks of unsalted, cold
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of sugar
1/4 cup of vodka, cold
1/8 cup of water, cold

In a large bowl or food processor mix together flour, salt and sugar. Cut butter into pieces and add to the flour. Toss so the butter is coated. Either pulse in the food processor or rub the butter into the flour with your fingers, until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Add vodka and water and pulse until a dough forms, or mix with your hands until a dough forms. Separate the dough in half and roll each half into a ball. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Roll out and fit to a pie pan, Add excess to the ball for the top half, roll out and cut into shapes, or lattice and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)


Maple Apple Filling:
3 lbs of apples (granny smith), peeled and cored
1/4 cup of flour
1 tbsp of corn starch
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 of brown sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of butter
1 egg

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees, put the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Dice apples and put in a large bowl. Add flour, corn starch, sugar, syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, toss to combine. Pour mixture into the bottom pie crust and pat down. Cut the butter into little pieces and sprinkle over the top. Beat egg in a small bowl. Brush the lattice strips or cut outs with egg wash and top the pie with them. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees, bake until the filling is bubbling and pie is golden, about an hour. If the pie starts to brown to quickly cover with foil and continue backing. Also, the pie filling may bubble over a bit, so place tray underneath while baking. Let cool, serve and enjoy.

The pie, about to go into the oven:



Fresh out of the oven:



Happy Eating.