NOTE: Because so many recipes in this cookbook have the same name, I will use page numbers to direct you to which pie recipe I am referring to, so when you have your own Pie Town pie cookbook (which you really should get), you can see exactly the recipe in question.

So, on the heels of making enough crusts for five double-crust pies, we actually had to make the guts to fill ’em!

The first one on the list ended up being apple. I had a vague sense that the groom liked apple foods (but he’s not a big dessert guy, in general). Furthermore, apples are typically easy to get your hands on, and many people like apple pie.

Really, though? The decision making factor ended up being, “What in this cookbook looks easy to make with few ingredients?” And this recipe came through.

h2. Ingredients

5 – 7 tart apples
3/4 – 1 c sugar (Taste your apples to decide what’s needed. Or, be in a rush like me, and make a snap decision. I chose 1 c.)

2 tbsp enriched flour (We used all-purpose, because that’s what we had on hand. Also, I presume that’s what the author means.)

Dash of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp butter

1 recipe for double-crust pie crust (In our case, we used two dough balls from the previous recipe.)

h2. Instructions

Prepare apples and slice thin. Mix sugar, flour, spices and then add them to the apple slices. Press one pie crust into 9″ pie pan, then fill with apple mixture. Place the second pie crust over the top, seal the edges however you want to, then cut holes for ventilation. Dot the top with butter, and bake at 400°F for 50 minutes.

h2. Cooking and Consumption Notes

h3. Cooking

This is a fairly straightforward recipe, which is why I selected it. My folks had all the ingredients on hand, except the apples (another bonus).

“Prepare” in this context means to peel and core the apples. Or, at least, that’s what I presumed it meant, having eaten an apple pie or two in my day.

Honestly, the only tricky part was the “dot with butter”. Having made one or two apple pies (but no more) in my time, I had a vague recollection that there should be some dots of butter on top of the filling, before the top crust goes on, so I did that. But then the crust didn’t adequately brown (Dad’s opinion), so it probably could have used an egg or butter wash. I was not down with egg washes at that point.

Finally, if you’re using those aluminum pie plates (what we had on hand for all these pies), note that they are not 9″ pie plates. You’ll have a bit more filling leftover. Eat it with a fork & spoon. That’s my suggestion.

h3. Consumption

This pie was oddly dull and dry, which is funny, because going into and coming out of the oven, I fully expected it to be the best pie of the ones we made.

Dry, I think I can explain. The apples had some time to sit and think about becoming pie, in the mixture. This caused them to release some liquid, prior to baking. If I’d had a 9″ pie plate, I would have just dumped the whole bowl of apples into the crust. However, since my pie plate was relatively small, I only poured most of the apples in, and I refrained from dumping in the liquid, for fear of making the crust soggy too quickly. I think I should have just poured the liquid in with wild abandon.

Dull, I’m not sure about. The leftover filling (which I ate some of with a fork) was quite tasty. I suspect the answer is that the apples didn’t soften enough. Whether that’s inadequate baking time, or a lack of steaming due to a lack of liquid, I just don’t know. Even so, the spices could potentially have been kicked up a notch or so, somehow.

But, it got eaten by several people, so it couldn’t have been all bad.