Hot apple pie with vanilla bean ice-cream, what can be better comfort food?  When I make this pie I usually double the pie crust ingredients.  I feel there is not enough pie crust dough as a singe recipe.  I like to make sure there is enough dough.  You may find the single recipe is plenty, but I had to really work with this crust as a single recipe.  Always better to have too much dough than not enough.  Besides, you can use the extra dough to roll out and cut out shapes to put on top of your pie crust.

The Pink Lady apple is a cross between Granny Smith apples and Red and Delicious apples.  This apple is tart, but sweet at the same time.  This is one of my favorite apples to bake with besides the Granny Smith apple.  This apple recipe can be done the as a flat apple pie also. Just put your apples in the middle and fold up the edges in a circular ring.

 

 Happy Apple Pie Baking!

 

Ingredients for Pie Crust:

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening or butter (I use Crisco for this pie crust)

6 Tablespoons Ice Water

 

For Apple Filling:

 

8 cups sliced Pink Lady Apples

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

 

Instructions:

 

Pie Crust: 

Combine first 4 ingredients in a cuisinart stand mixer bowl as follows:

1. Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly.

2. Gradually add water, pulsing on and off until dough forms a  ball.  Divide dough in half so one ball is slightly larger than the other.

3. Roll out the larger ball to fit an 9-inch or 10-inch pie plate.  Transfer pastry to pie plate.  Trim pastry even with the edge of a pie plate.

4. Set second ball of dough to the side covered to roll out after finishing the apple filling.

 

Filling:

1. Heat oven to 400 F.

2. MIx all filling ingredients in a large bowl.  In the beginning there will look like there is not enough liquid, but as you mix, you will find there to be quite a bit.

3. Place inside the double crust and cover with the second crust.  Make slits in the top or you can use a decorate the top crust with a cookie cutter design.

4. Bake 15 minutes and cover the edges of the crust with foil and bake an additional 25 to 35 minutes.

5. Cool for at least an hour.

6. Cut and enjoy with some vanilla  bean ice cream!