My Secret Recipe

I am going to share my wildly successful apple pie recipe with you.  I am not sure where I got this recipe – I have had it for at least 10 years.  It is a great recipe!  It is also really easy to make – once you master the art of making a pie crust (see yesterday’s post).

Paper Bag Apple Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
2 Tbs. flour
6-8 med apples, peeled & sliced
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Combine sugar, flour, and spices. toss with apple slices. Mix well.  Spoon into pie shell and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine (must be cold)
Combine topping ingredients until crumbly.  Sprinkle topping over apples.

Place pie in brown grocery bag.  Fasten with a paper clip or wooden clothespin and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees  on lowest rack.

Be sure the bag is not touching the element or sides of the oven.  Be careful when removing the paper clip or clothespin – escaping steam can burn you when opening the bag.
If your top crust is not as dark as you would like it upon opening the bag, you can place it under the broiler for a minute or two.  I like my crust to be golden brown on top, and I usually have to broil it after baking it in the bag.
All done – before broiling

All done – after broiling ( I left the one on the right in just a smidge too long, but it was still good)
  
Many happy tummies coming up!  Say “apple!”

Sing a Song of Sixpence…

A counter full of pies!  Four and twenty apples, baked in a pie.  When the pie was opened, the family began to sing…
“Can I have another piece?” 
True to my word, I baked some more apple pies last week.  This time, I had the aid of not only my trusty rolling pin and pastry blender, but my positively, absolutely, hot-diggety-dog, wonderful apple corer/peeler/slicer!  A gift from my oh-so thoughtful hubby, who knows that the apples are the hardest part of making the pie! 

With this baby, I can core, peel, and slice a large apple in less than ten seconds.  Eight, to be exact!  LOVE it! :)

There is no doubt that apple pies would be even fewer and farther between if I didn’t have this amazing invention!  (Thanks, Paul!) 
Below is my secret weapon for the best apple pie ever – a plain, everyday, brown grocery bag.  And no, I have never caught anything on fire by doing this.  It is perfectly safe.  You can see that the bag is touching nothing but the cookie sheet, and the added bonus is the pie never overflows into the oven!

While I still had problems with my crust ( I don’t know what is wrong. Perhaps my excessive bragging has caused the failure of my once-perfect pie crusts!), it tasted heavenly.  That last piece is calling… who will answer? :)