Please share your apple pie recipes/hints etc.

[browndriver]

Please, I would like some input, and your experiences.

I noticed in our kitchen we had quite a few apples that no one wanted. Not wanting them to spoil, I decided to make an apple pie. Granted, the apples that we had on hand weren't "technically" pie apples according to some. They were Fuji apples, but what the heck, the only thing that matters is the end result that ends up "down the hatch".

Searching the cook books that we had, I found a simple recipe in the "American Woman's Cookbook" edited by Ruth Berolzheimer copyright 1942. The book was given to the CEO of our home, after her great grandmother passed on. I don't think the title of the book would fly today.

6 apples
1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
Prepare apples as one would for a pie. Mix ingredients together, line pie pan with pastry, then apple mixture. Dot apple mixture with butter. (I used about 3 tbsp of butter for that...mmmmmm butter....). Cover with pastry. Cut vent slits in top of pie.
Bake at 450 F. for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 F. for 45 minutes or longer.

I added 1 to 2 tsp of cinnamon to the apple mixture. I think I should have used another tbsp of flour to "thicken" the apple mixture even more. If memory serves me well, I think my mother used tapioca pudding mix as a "thickener".

I do need to improve with the crust-that darn crust. It tasted good, but looked like crap. The appearance of the creation wouldn't make the front page of any magazine, but it sure tasted good "going down the hatch"!
The CEO, a.k.a. my wife, generally doesn't eat apple pie. I think she was impressed and liked it. (So true Bubba, So true). I think Bubba mentioned his issues with pie crusts before.

[Mystress Aynn]

Try cornstarch as a thickener, esp. if you're gonna triple (?!?) the butter. I'm quite partial to 'spicy' pies, so I add a VERY SMALL sprinkle of clove (literally a couple of specks, 'cause it's sooooo strong!) and some nutmeg. And there's a thread in here about pie crusts... Vodka's the secret ingredient to perfect crusts!