It's celebration time!
No matter how busy or stressed out you are, how many exams or projects you have, set aside a little time today to celebrate.
Celebrate fall... Celebrate an accomplishment in your life, big or small... Celebrate with friends.... and most of all, celebrate them all with pie!
I did, and it was the best part of my day!
I've been wanting to make pie for a while, and this weekend seemed like the perfect time. I had my first race as a coxswain for crew yesterday, and it went so much better than I thought. Something worth celebrating. Also, my good friend from crew had his birthday yesterday, and apple pie happens to be his favorite dessert. Could there be a better way to celebrate?
I think not.
I know making pie sounds scary, but I promise it's not.
Perfection is not the goal here...
What makes this pie a celebration of fall is the pile of sweet tart apples that reside in the middle.
I've been waiting very impatiently to make fall food, and it's finally been cool enough to dive in.
Again, it doesn't have to be perfect. Rustic fall food tastes better, I promise.
The dough gets haphazardly pressed into the pan...
The pie is almost ready for the oven now, I could hardly wait at this point.
I kept sneaking sugary apple slices (don't tell)...
But it's about to get even better.
Oh yes, butter, sugar and apples. This is happiness.
This is definitely something to celebrate.
Now here's something a little strange. This pie is paper bag apple pie. That means that it gets baked in a paper bag, you know the kind they used to have at the grocery store and that you cut up and turned into book covers as a kid...
I don't know why really, but everything I've read about paper bag pie claims that it's the best way to bake pie so I thought I would give it a try. After all, we want the best for our celebration!
The only problem is that I could not find a paper bag...I can't even think of a grocery store that still has them.
So I did what all underground college cooks must do and I improvised.
I made my own bag out of parchment paper and staples
I think it worked pretty darn well.
Granted there were a few toasty spots, but that was my fault because I was distracted doing physics homework and left the pie in a tad too long...
But otherwise the bag method seemed to work wonders.
The whole basement smelled like warm delicious fall, and my friend said I was the best person in the world when I brought the pie in for his birthday celebration.
This pie is definitely worth a celebration, so take a break and bake one, you deserve it.
Happy fall everyone, enjoy!
~Maddy
Paper Bag Apple Pie
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups King Arthur Perfect Pastry Blend or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Filling
4 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced; enough to make 8 cups sliced apples
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pats
1) To make the crust: Whisk together the flour and salt, then work in the shortening until everything is well combined.
2) Work in the butter until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; some pieces of butter can be left a bit larger than the others.
3) Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing as you sprinkle the water onto the flour/fat.
4) When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough three or four times to bring it together, then pat it into a thick disk. Roll the disk on its edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes, while you make the filling.
5) To make the filling: Put the sliced apples in a big microwave-safe bowl, and stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, lemon juice, and boiled cider.
6) Microwave the filling, uncovered, for 5 minutes. This softens the apples just a bit, and gets their juices flowing.
7) Stir in the flour.
8) Preheat the oven to 425°F.
9) Remove the crust from the refrigerator. If it's been chilling longer than 30 minutes, give it 10 minutes or so to warm up a bit. Roll it into a 12 1/2" to 13" circle.
10) Lightly grease a 9" pie pan, preferably one that's at least 1 1/2" deep, and lay the crust in the pan, settling it into place gently. Don't tug at it or stretch it; this could cause it to shrink as it bakes.
11) Spoon the filling into the crust.
11) To make the topping: Combine the sugar, flour, and butter, working them together until crumbly. Don't over-mix; you don't want the streusel to turn into a solid mass.
13) Spread the streusel atop the filling.
14) Place the pie in a brown paper grocery bag, or a stapled parchment pouch. Staple shut and place in preheated oven.
15) Bake the pie for 1 hour.
16) Remove the pie from the oven, and carefully open it, avoiding any steam. Remove the pie, and set it on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
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