We went to visit my parents over the weekend. We called ahead, to make sure they’d be home.  Since they had a little warning, don’t you know, my mom baked an Apple Pie.

The first words out of my dad’s mouth after we got in the door, Hi, the pie’s still warm.  Maybe he said something else in the greeting, but that is how I remember it.

We started a pot of coffee, and when that was brewed, we cut into the pie. There is something about mom’s apple pie. It is all warm and sweet and loving and memory filled and wonderful.

You probably have a similar food experience in your life. There’s just one special recipe that your family makes that takes you down a path of memories and good times.

I am afraid I have become an apple pie snob. I have tried to make them and they fall short of mom’s pie. I have tried other people’s apple pies. They are pretty good, but always leave me wanting. So, no offense, but I will be picking blueberry, pecan, pumpkin or some other flavor of pie if you invite me to dinner.

It all starts with the crust. Mom swears that if you have a good crust, the pie will be good. She’s apparently made millions of pie crusts over the years, because she makes a perfect pie crust.

Pastry Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup salad oil
5 tablespoons water

Recipe Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.Water that is slightly warm will make the dough easier to work with and more elastic.
2. Divide the dough into two balls and leave set in the bowl for a minute.
3. Clear your workspace for rolling out the crusts. You will need two pieces of wax paper for each crust. You will want the paper to be about 12 x 12 inches.
4. Place a ball of dough between two pieces of wax paper. Using the rolling pin, flatten the ball of dough into a circular crust. Use the pie pan to measure for the correct size.
5. You will want the dough to be about an inch larger than the diameter of the pan. Â Set aside the first crust and repeat the process for the second crust.

Apple Pie Filling Recipe

Ingredients:

6 or 7 tart apples
1 cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
dash of salt
2 Tablespoons Butter

Recipe Directions:

1. Peel and slice the apples.
2. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix with apples.
3. Line two 9 inch pie pans with pastry crust. Fill with apple mixture and dot with butter.
4. Place top pastry crust over pie and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake 50 minutes or until crust is golden.

Approximate Nutritional Information:

Servings Per Recipe: 16 , Amount Per Serving: Calories: 121, Total Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 64mg, Total Carbs: 26g, Protein: 1 g.

Make it a Meal:

This probably isn’t the best meal nutritionally, but sometimes you just have to do what feels good! Of course, my family serves apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of steaming hot coffee. I highly recommend this method of serving pie, no matter what the filling.

Borrow a page from my memory lane and try this apple pie recipe. If you have a knack for pie crusts, it will be especially good!

 

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