Simply Delicious Apple Pie

Simply Delicious Apple Pie

printable version

The paper on this recipe feels like newspaper but the font is not typical of a newspaper.  Maybe it came from some sort of catalog or periodical.

This recipe and I did not get off to a good start.  I planned a couple weeks ahead to make this for Easter.  As I read through the recipe and saw 2 bags of apples and 2 bags of pie crust, for some reason I thought it made TWO pies and - due to social distancing - we definitely don't need two pies right now.  So I planned to just halve the recipe.  I couldn't find frozen apples so I got a 20 oz. can of Lucky Leaf apples.  

Once upon a time my HEB coupon app gave me this frozen pie crust for free.  It's been in my freezer for a while but it maintained well, was easy to use, and tasted great.

I started to put this together on Easter Sunday - so no chance to run back to the store and get another pie crust and more apples.  I had to go with my original plan and just make half the recipe.  So I cut my one pie crust in half in order to have crust on top and bottom.

The recipe said it makes an 8" pie.  Had I bought a new pie crust I probably would've bought the 2-pack that comes in foil pans so putting one of those on top would've been a challenge.  Or I might've just planned to make my own pie crust which would've gone in my 9" pie pan.  If I had really read the recipe carefully I would've purchased the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts that come two in a box and they just need to be unrolled.  That would be ideal for the bottom and top crust.

I did some math and figured the area of an 8" pie is 50.24.  I had a 6" round dish that has an area of 28.26 so I figured it was a little more than half and would hold all the ingredients.

The directions said to roll out on wax paper then flip and peel.  What an easy way to get a pie crust in the pan!  (I also put a sheet of wax paper on top too so when I rolled it wouldn't stick to the rolling pin.  That made clean up a breeze.

I weighed out 12 oz. of apples.

I used a slotted spoon so I didn't get extra juice.  There were still several apple pieces left in the can...I'll probably put them in a smoothie at some point.

I thought I was going to be mixing the apples with other ingredients so that's why I put them into this size bowl.  Then I realized they were to go straight into the crust.  Once again - I did not read carefully.  If I had I would've put the whole can on the scale and taken out apples until it was 12 oz. less - putting them straight into the crust.

But actually - I didn't need all 12 oz at once so I had to put the bowl on the scale and take out 6 oz. worth to put it straight into the crust so that half of the apples would be in the pie for the first layer.

I bought a whole 1-lb. box of DARK brown sugar just for this recipe.  Ugh, I only needed 1/8 of a cup - I probably would've come up with a substitution because I rarely use Dark brown sugar so this will just sit in my pantry until it gets as hard as a rock.

Got the brown sugar and flour then measured the cinnamon.  I put a 1/2 tsp and then realized, not that I forgot to halve it, but that the font on the recipe was hard for my eyes to digest.  I should've only used 1/4 tsp cinnamon so I tried to scoop a little back. Although I like cinnamon and probably wouldn't mind extra - other people might and I wanted to be true to the recipe.

My normal measuring spoon set doesn't go below 1/4 tsp and frequently I'll just eyeball half of 1/4 tsp but with nutmeg it can overpower quickly so I got the 1/8 tsp from my Tupperware set.

The nutmeg jar came off this awesome spice rack that I pre-inherited from my mother.  Pre- because years before she died, when she was still of sound mind but downsizing, she asked my sister and I if we wanted any pieces from her Danish Teak furniture collection.  I wanted the spice rack and the grandmother clock.

Half the apples were in the shell.

I sprinkled approx. half the sugar mixture over the first layer of apples.

The rest of the apples fit perfectly in a second layer and the rest of the sugar stuff went on top.

A few days ago I made some Copycat Subway Sub Rolls so we could have meatball subs for dinner.  When they came out of the oven I rubbed butter over the top.  So I had this part of a stick that had an uneven end but was approximately 1 1/2 TBSP.  I wasn't really sure how to "dot" the butter so I basically just shaved off corners and let them fall where they may.

Coffee cream is a vague term...did they mean Half & Half - I don't know.  Since I planned to serve this with vanilla ice cream anyway I decided to use Vanilla creamer.

I poured it in the middle...

...and it promptly disappeared into the depths of the pie.  (Side note - we usually drink decaf coffee in the evenings.  I drink mine black and don't like to combine coffee and dessert like a lot of people do.  Occasionally if I will be eating something sweet at the same time as my coffee then I will put milk and artificial sweetener into the coffee.  So when we ate the pie I used some of the vanilla creamer - I did not like it.  Don't know if it was a brand thing or I'm just not used to flavored creamer.)

I rolled otu the other half of the pie crust and flipped it on top.  I did not trim anything.

I just pinched it and ruffled it and cut several slits to let the steam out.

Sometimes when I bake half of something it still takes the same amount of cook time but this time I had a hunch and set the time for 30 mins. instead of 50.

Good thing because in 30 minutes it was perfectly baked and lightly golden.

I actually do not like fruit pies (thus the ice cream) - but apple is the husband's favorite so I eat them maybe once a year.  As apple pies go I liked this one mostly.  Once I bit into something sort of bitter or sour.  I think it would've been just as well to have the apples in a bowl and mix them around with all the other dry ingredients and then put them all into the pie.  It probably would've made a more consistent flavor.