Homemade Apple Pie

Does anyone else feel like this year is just flying by? I swear Summer just started, but its already seeming like its turning into Fall. My nectarine tree has barely any fruit left on it, the weather has been sporadic (one day its 100* degrees out, the next day its 70* with flash flood warnings popping up on my phone all day), and all of the "Fall events" that have been planned forever are starting to pop up on my calendar--bridal showers, bachelorette parties--its all practically here. Next week will be August.. August? Already? I think we all know what that means: ALL of the Christmas decorations at Hobby Lobby will be out--and because of that, it means that I'll be kicking my crafting into full gear--so brace yourselves!

Today I'll be working on those wine bottles I wrapped in jute a while ago; I'm so excited for how they'll turn out! I have a bunch of Christmas crafts planned--I'll be making TONS of decorations for my house! I'm feeling in the "Fall spirit" today, so I'll share the recipe I used last Thanksgiving when I made my first apple pie ever. I dove right in and made everything from scratch--including the crust (which was a HUGE pain in the butt!) but it tasted amazing! If you want to save yourself a TON of time, I'd recommend buying a store-bought crust... Otherwise, here you go!

Ingredients:

Pastry:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons of cold water

Filling:
1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of salt
8 cups of thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Directions:

Step 1: In medium bowl, mix two cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cut in shortening, using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans the side of the bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Step 2: Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

Step 3: Heat oven to 425*F. With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round to 2 inches larger than the upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

Step 4: In large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over the filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 an inch from the rim of the plate.

Step 5: Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from the rim of the plate. Fold and roll the top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Cover edge with 2-inch or 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning. This was the step where I got creative with my crust. Instead of following these directions, I grabbed a leaf cookie-cutter and cut out TONS of leaves; then starting with the rim, lined the pie with them. This took a long time to do, but the presentation turned out amazing. 

Step 6: Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in the crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm if desired. Enjoy!

Expert Tips:

• For a pretty glazed top crust, brush this--and any other double crust pie--with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
  
• Jump-start your pie baking by using Betty Crocker pie crust mix. Just add water and stir; the dough is ready in 5 minutes.
  
• Start with three 20-ounce cans of sliced apples, drained, instead of using fresh apples, and you'll shave about half the prep time off of this recipe.