Apple Pie for a President

Apple Pie for a President

Without getting into politics, I think it’s safe to say that at least one of our presidents — Abraham Lincoln — is and has been held in high regard for over a century and a half.

So, in his honor, in commemoration of President’s Day (February 19, 2024), I offer my Mom’s recipe for Lincoln’s favorite dessert: Apple Pie.

MOM’S APPLE PIE

CRUST:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

• 1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

• 4-5 tablespoons liquid (water, milk, yogurt, juice, etc.)

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and shortening and work the fats into the flour using your fingers or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor). Add the minimum quantity of liquid and work into the ingredients to form a dough, using the remaining liquid if necessary (or pulse in the food processor until a ball of dough forms). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Makes enough for a 2-crust 9 or 10-inch pie

APPLE PIE FILLING

• 3 pounds pie apples, peeled, cored and sliced

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

• 2 tablespoons milk, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the apples in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Add the sugar, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to mix them evenly. Roll out half the dough and fit into a 9 or 10-inch pie pan, leaving an excess overhanging the edge. Spoon the filling into the pan. Dot the apples with the bits of butter. Roll out the remaining dough and place it on top of the apple filling. Gather the top and bottom crusts at the edge of the pan and either press them with a fork to seal them together, or roll them slightly and press down to seal the edges, then flute the edge using your index finger and thumb. Cut holes in the dough using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the surface of the top with the milk, if you like a darker crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings

Apple Pie is Therapy

Peel, core and slice the apples for pie

Roll the pie dough

Fill bottom crust with fruit

Place second crust on top of fruit

Add a dab of milk here and there to the top crust

For me, my October pie baking fest is like therapy. It’s always a good way to spend the day and work out frustrations, anger and sadness. The kind I am feeling these days because of the war and devastation in Israel.

It was difficult to find the kind of apples I like this year. Because there was an early frost, none of the orchards I usually go to had Rhode Island Greening apples, the best pie apples on earth. After some delays and some connections from someone who knew someone who knew someone else who knew someone who had an orchard in Rhode Island, I got a bushel of them!

I’m grateful and happy for that at least.

Here are some photos showing the steps to my pie baking: peel-core-slice; roll the dough; place the filling inside the bottom crust; cover the pies (one of mine had a streusel top); place second piece of rolled dough on top of fruit; add a dab or two of milk (makes the crust brown in spots) and bake.

Voila! PIE!

If you prefer a streusel top, look here.

Lily Vail’s (My Mom’s) Apple Pie

crust:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel, optional

• 1/2 cup cold butter

• 1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

• 1/4 cup cold milk, juice, water or melted ice cream, approximately (add more as needed)

• apple filling

To make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and lemon peel, if used, in a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into chunks and add the chunks to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour mixture until the ingredients resemble crumbs (use your hands, a pastry blender or the pulse feature of a food processor). Add the liquid, using only enough to gather pastry into a soft ball of dough (start with 1/4 cup). Cut the dough in half and flatten each half to make a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it stand at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly flour a pastry board or clean work surface. With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 1/8-inch thick, making sure the circle is larger than the pie pan by about 1 inch. Place the dough in a 9” or 10” pie pan. Pour the apple filling into the pastry-lined pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling. 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. Cut steam vents in the top crust with the tip of a sharp knife or the tines of a fork. Bake the pie for about an hour or until golden brown.

Apple Filling:

3 pounds pie apples (Rhode Island Greenings, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Stayman, Winesap, Baldwin, Jonagold)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon butter

Peel and core the apples then cut them into slices. Place the slices in a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to coat the apple slices evenly.

For My Birthday: Lily Vail’s Apple Pie

Today’s my birthday! And to celebrate there’s … no, not cake.

I like pie. Specifically Apple pie. Specifically the way my mother used to bake them and always made one for me for my birthday. And after she died I made one for myself for every birthday.

Actually, I make a dozen pies every October when the Greening apples are harvested, because those are the apples I like best for pie. I freeze the pies and we eat about one per month so that when the next October comes around again I make a new batch for the year to come.

But you can make apple pie with any apple, just adjust the sugar level accordingly, depending on the apple you use. I prefer a tart-tasting filling, not too sweet that is. That’s why I like Rhode Island Greenings. If you like a tart tasting apple pie, you can use Granny Smith apples (cut the slices thin because they cook better to tenderness that way). Golden Delicious are good pie apples now too, but use a little less sugar and a little more lemon juice. Don’t use McIntosh, they’re too watery. Fuji and Braeburn are better eating apples. They don’t hold up well in a pie. And please, don’t bother with Red Delicious because they have no flavor. 

Here’s my Mom’s recipe. I am already humming with anticipation.

Lily Vail’s Apple Pie

crust:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel, optional

1/2 cup cold butter

1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

4-6 tablespoons cold milk, juice, water or melted ice cream

apple filling

To make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and lemon peel, if used, in a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into chunks and add the chunks to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour mixture until the ingredients resemble crumbs (use your hands, a pastry blender or the pulse feature of a food processor). Add the liquid, using only enough to gather pastry into a soft ball of dough (start with 4 tablespoons). Cut the dough in half and flatten each half to make a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it stand at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a pastry board or clean work surface. With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 1/8-inch thick, making sure the circle is larger than the pie pan by about 1 inch. Place the dough in a 9” or 10” pie pan. Pour the apple filling into the pastry-lined pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling. 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. Cut steam vents in the top crust with the tip of a sharp knife or the tines of a fork. Bake the pie for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple Filling:

3 pounds pie apples (Rhode Island Greenings, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Stayman, Winesap, Baldwin, Jonagold)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

Peel and core the apples then cut them into slices. Place the slices in a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to coat the apple slices evenly.

Mom’s Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Election season is now in high gear. Fortunately, so is apple season, so we can drown out the candidates and the nonsense with a big slice of homemade apple pie.

Besides, election season ends. But you can freeze an apple pie for up to a year.

My mother, who made fabulous apple pie, taught me the tricks to perfect pie crust. First, she said, use as little liquid as possible for the dough, because that’s what makes the crust so flaky.

She also didn’t use ice water, like most recipes say to. She used milk or sour cream and sometimes orange juice or even melted vanilla ice cream. The crust was incredibly delicate, crumbly and rich.

She also had this important caveat:”don’t kill the dough!” and I hear her warning every time I roll some out. She meant, roll the dough gently, don’t press too hard or bang it. It’s dough, not clay so you don’t have to batter it to death to get it smooth.

Warning in mind, every September I make an annual trek to a nearby farm to get the kind of apples she always used: Rhode Island Greenings. I’ve tried to make a pie as good as hers using other apples but nothing can compare to these. Unfortunately, you have to search them out. Stores do not carry them as a rule. I’m lucky that I only have to travel about 45 minutes to get my annual load — a bushel. I make about a dozen pies and a few other goodies like Apple Brown Betty.

The pies last almost the entire year in the freezer. We always eat one just after the first one cools down from baking. The next one at Thanksgiving, then New Year’s. The rest depend on who’s coming to my house and when.

Here’s my Mom’s recipe. If you can’t get Greening apples, use Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy, Idared, Stayman, Winesap or Jonathan. Or a mixture of any of these. Golden Delicious are fine, but a little sweet. If you use Golden Delicious, cut back a tablespoon or two of sugar. Lots of people use Granny Smith apples, but I don’t like the texture of these apples when they’re cooked.

Mom’s Apple Pie

Crust:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

• 1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

• 4-5 tablespoons liquid (water, milk, yogurt, juice, etc.)

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and shortening and work the fats into the flour using your fingers or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor). Add the minimum quantity of liquid and work into the ingredients to form a dough, using the remaining liquid if necessary (or pulse in the food processor until a ball of dough forms). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Makes enough for 2-crust 9 or 10-inch pie

Apple Pie Filling

• 3 pounds pie apples, peeled, cored and sliced

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

• 2 tablespoons milk, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the apples in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Add the sugar, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to mix them evenly. Roll out half the dough and fit into a 9 or 10-inch pie pan, leaving an excess overhanging the edge. Spoon the filling into the pan. Dot the apples with the bits of butter. Roll out the remaining dough and place it on top of the apple filling. Gather the top and bottom crusts at the edge of the pan and either press them with a fork to seal them together, or roll them slightly and press down to seal the edges, then flute the edge using your index finger and thumb. Cut holes in the dough using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the surface of the top with the milk, if you like a darker crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings

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Tagged: apple pie, pie, apple recipes, dessert

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Apple Pie for my Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday so I ate a big fat hunk of …. APPLE PIE!

Because apple pie is better than any cake I can think of, especially store-bought cake, except for, maybe, Magnolia Bakery coconut cake. But if I bought one of those I would pick at it all weekend until everyone in my family ate half the cake and I ate the other half.

I love apple pie and my mother served one for every birthday of my adult life. There was always a candle stuck in the middle, just as if it were a cake. And so the tradition continues.

This year for the first time my grandson Zev tried the apple pie and declared it delicious. He’s kind of fussy and doesn’t eat much, so I consider his validation a great honor.

Btw, the best apples to use for pie are Rhode Island Greening, Granny Smith, Idared, Jonagold, Stayman, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Gravenstein, Newton Pippin, Winesap, Northern Spy and Baldwin. Some of these are only available in Farmer’s Markets and farms. If you can get them, you might want to do what I do — make several pies when the good apples are ready and freeze them (fully baked). They are fine for about a year (wrap them in double layers of plastic wrap). Thaw and rebake to crisp the crust: place the thawed pie in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Here’s the recipe:

Apple Pie

crust:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel, optional

1/2 cup cold butter

1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

4-6 tablespoons cold milk, juice, water or melted ice cream

apple filling

To make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon peel, if used, in a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into chunks and add the chunks to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour mixture until the ingredients resemble crumbs (use your hands, a pastry blender or the pulse feature of a food processor). Add the liquid, using only enough to gather pastry into a soft ball of dough (start with 4 tablespoons). Cut the dough in half and flatten each half to make a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it stand at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a pastry board or clean work surface. With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 1/8-inch thick, making sure the circle is larger than the pie pan by about 1 inch. Place the dough in a 9” or 10” pie pan. Pour the apple filling into the pastry-lined pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling. 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. Cut steam vents in the top crust with the tip of a sharp knife or the tines of a fork. Bake the pie for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple Filling:

3 pounds pie apples (Rhode Island Greenings, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Stayman, Winesap, Baldwin, Jonagold, Braeburn

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

Peel and core the apples then cut them into slices. Place the slices in a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to coat the apple slices evenly.

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