Recipe :: The BEST Apple Pie, Ever

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is on Thursday!  November has just flown by, and before we know it Christmas will be here too.  I am trying to savor every moment of the holiday season, because it always just seems to go by too fast.  One thing I look forward to the most about this time of year is my mom's Apple Pie.  Seriously, it is legendary.  The recipe has been passed down in our family, and as you can see below the recipe itself has definitely seen it's share of spills and dirty fingers.  Thankfully my mom made me a new recipe to go inside the cookbook that she made for me when I turned 21 {all hand-written and illustrated...she is the best!}  So without further adieu, here is the recipe for {in my humble opinion} the BEST Apple Pie, EVER.

The BEST Apple Pie, Ever

CRUST: 

1 1/4 c. shortening {chilled}

3 c. flour

1 teaspoon salt

Approx. 5 tablespoons ice water

1 egg, beaten well

1 tablespoon vinegar

In a large bowl, mix salt and flour.  Cut in chilled shortening with two knives until it starts to mix -- blend the rest of the way with a pastry blender until the texture resembles coarse sand.  Don't over mix!

Add egg and vinegar, mix with fork.  Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with fork until blended.  Dough should be pretty moist.  

Form into ball and wrap with plastic wrap.  Chill in fridge for one hour.  Divide in half - roll out bottom half to fit pie plate bottom and other half for the top.

FILLING:

1 c. sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3-4 tablespoons flour

7 c. peeled, sliced apples {mostly Granny Smith}

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

Heat over to 400 degrees.

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and lemon rind in a small bowl.  Put apples in a large bowl and pour lemon juice over.  Mix dry ingredients in with apples, mix well.  Taste and add more spices as you see fit.

Pour apples into prepared pie crust.  Dot with four or five pats of butter.  Put crust on top and pinch the crust with your thumb and first finger from one hand and first finger from other hand.  Repeat until crust resembles photo below.  If desired, use a little extra dough and a fun cookie cutter to put a few decorative shapes on top {I like to use little leaves or stars}.  Draw a happy face with sharp pairing knife, to make sure steam can release from pie.

Bake on middle rack -- 400 degrees for 10 minutes then turn oven down to 350 degrees.  Bake for another 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and apples are bubbly.  Turn once or twice while cooking to ensure all sides are cooked evenly.

Let cool, serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream {I love Jeni's Ndali Estate Vanilla Bean}.  Enjoy!