Apple Pie (#21)

FILLING
4 md Tart apples, such as Granny 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
. Smith 1/2 ts Vanilla extract
1/2 c Golden raisins x Additional flour for rolling
1/3 c Sugar x Sugar for sprinkling

1. To make the crust, in a bowl toss the flour, sugar and salt.
Using a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips, quickly cut in
the butter,* until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on
the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time while stirring the mixture just
until it can be gathered into a ball. Knead once or twice in the
bowl. Divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic or foil and chill 30
mintues.

2. Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple into 8 wedges. Cut each
wedge crosswise into quarters. In a bowl, toss the apples, raisins,
sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll* one piece of the dough into
an 11- to 12-inch circle. Lift the dough into a 9-inch pie plate.
Press gently against the bottom and sides. There should be a small
overhang.

5. Fill the pie with the apple mixture, mounding it slightly in the
center. Roll the remaining dough as above. This is the topcrust.
Lift and place it over the apple filling.

6. Crimp or pinch the edges of the top and bottom crusts together
around the rim of the pie plate.

7. Brush the top lightly with water. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon
of sugar. Cut 6 or 8 small slits through the top crust with the tip
of a paring knife to allow for the release of steam as the pie bakes.

8. Bake about 1-1/4 hours, until light golden. Cool slightly before
serving.

TIPS: * When you cut in butter, you are breaking up the pieces of
butter while rubbing them into the dry ingredients. The end product
is a mass of tiny, buttery, floury modules.

** When rolling out a piecrust dough, you may find it helpful
to flatten the dough into a circle and place it between two sheets of
plastic wrap so it will be easier to lift. When rolling out the
dough, roll from the center of the circle out toward the edge,
rotating the circle. (Don’t roll from the edge toward the center.)

From “Woman’s Day: The Only 25 Recipes You’ll Ever Need,” by Sidney
Burstein, ISBN 0-385-41179-0, 1990.

keyed for your perusal by iris grayson