Here is a picture of the apple crumb pie I baked for today.  I will post the recipe later - I made some tweaks to this one today, and if I like what I did, I’ll include it in the recipe directions. If not, I’ll just post my old standard recipe. 

MrsM

The verdict?  Wonderful.  I added boiled apple cider and it really kicked the apple flavor to a higher degree.  King Arthur Flour sells Boiled Cider.  But if you are cheap like I am, LOL, you can make your own boiled cider.  I bought a half gallon from my local farm market, and put it in a pot and let it boil and boil and boil. It will take a few hours to boil down to a syrup that is the consistency of corn syrup or molasses.  My half gallon boiled down to around 20 ounces. It gets really really thick.  I refrigerated it, and it also gets hard as a brick.  I put the container of boiled syrup in a pan of hot water, and as it softened, I hacked away at it until I had 3 ounces.  (I weigh just about everything).  I microwaved it at that point for 15 seconds, and it was fluid again.

APPLE PIE          
Makes one 9 inch pie

CRUST
(Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Sept-Oct 1994, page 6)

SINGLE Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups (5 5/8 ounces) King Arthur AP flour (doesn’t work as well with lower protein brands such as Pillsbury or Gold Medal)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
4 tablespoons (1 3/4 ounces) Crisco
3 - 5 tablespoons ice water

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in butter and Crisco.  Stir in just enough water to make dough just cohere.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours, or up to two days.  I have frozen rolled crusts for up to 2 months.

CRUMB TOPPING  
(From Carole Walter’s Great Pies and Tarts, page 206)
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I up it to 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Combine all ingredients until crumbs form.

APPLE FILLING
2 1/2 pounds apples, weighed after peeling and coring (I prefer Ida Red) 
1/4 cup sugar (or more to taste, up to 1/2 cup) 
1/4 cup AP flour
2 teaspoons Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon (or less to taste, I like a LOT of cinnamon)     
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (3 ounces) boiled apple cider
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine sugar, spices, salt, boiled cider and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Peel and core apples and toss with sugar mixture.  Preheat oven to 400°, rack set in middle position. Place drip shield on rack below to catch spills.  Mound apples into crust, taking care to fit and pack them nicely together.  Fit top crust over, and cut 3 or 4 vent holes. Crimp edges.  Bake at 400° for 45-50 minutes, or until apples feel tender when pierced with a fork.

For Apple Crumb pie, fill crust as above and sprinkle crumbs evenly over the top. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake 25-30 minutes more, or until apples feel tender when pierced with a fork.

Attached is a picture of my double crust pie.

MrsM,  Your pastries are fabulous. Thanks for the recipe(s).

You are welcome !

MrsM

MrsM, that is simply beautiful

I also make a caramel apple pie - two ways to do it.  Make your regular apple pie filling and layer apples/dulce de leche/apples/dulce de leche apples, then put your top crust on.  A small can of DdL will do it, don’t know the amount, but it’s the size of a single serving of vegetables can.  The other way it to make a one crust pie, fill and bake naked until the apples are just about tender.  Remove from the oven, spread that can of dulce de leche on top, and cover with chopped peanuts.  Delicious!

MrsM

OMG this looks to die for!