Apple Pie

Ok it was conference weekend. And I really wanted to bake the best homemade whole wheat ever. Well that didn't happen. I don't know what it is about bread, but I just can't do it. I try and try. So I ground my own wheat with the wheat grinder, I make sure I have good yeast and I do everything just as the recipe says and nope my bread does not rise and it is like a brick. I will conquer this! Just not right now. So today I decided I would master an apple pie. I looked around on the Internet for a recipe and came across one that I thought sounded good. So I did it. I made my crust early this morning and then in between conference sessions I made the pie. It is cooling as we speak. It turned out beautiful. So nice I had to take a picture. Looks good enough to eat!

Ok I am adding to this the recipe since I have had a few requests.

Best Brown Sugar Apple Pie you will ever eat!

1 double crust refrigerated
8 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples
1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
Glaze: Milk and granulated sugar

1. If you have not already, prepare the crust and refrigerate for at least one hour, or until firm enough to roll.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger portion of pastry into a 13 1/2 inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Place in pie shell, trim edges and refrigerate. Now is a good time to preheat oven to 400F.

3. Pie shell is chilling in the frigate, make the filling. Combine the apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Mix well. I like to use my hands and really get into it. Set aside while you roll the top pastry. Lightly surface round.

4. Once the top is rolled out, pull the pie shell out of the fridge and fill it with the apple mixture. Smooth the apples with your hands. Dot the top of the pie with butter, dropping the pieces here and there over the apples. (I forget this step sometimes and the pie is still amazing)

5. Lightly moisten the rim of the pie shell with a wet finger or pastry brush. (I used my fingers) Invert the top pastry over the filling, center it, fold over the edges and seal the pie. Trim if needed before. Then pinch the edge and make it pretty. Make several 2 inch long slits in the top pastry at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. Lightly brush the top pastry with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

6. Place the pie directly on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and place it on a covered with aluminum foil cookie sheet. Reduce the oven temp to 375F. Put back in the oven and cook for another 30 mins. When the pie is done, you should be able to see the juices bubbling up onto the crust.

7. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool for at least an hour if you can wait before slicing. IF you wait until it is room temp the pie will slice and look like a piece you would see in a magazine. Beautiful and it tastes really good as well.