Apple Pie {like Grandma's}

Who doesn't remember the smell in the kitchen when their favorite pie was being baked? Umm, I know I remember that smell! Ever since I've been married (over six years now...wow!) I always half-arsed an attempt to make apple pie. You know, pre-made pie crust, apple pie filling from the can...yep that was me. It just seemed so labor-intensive to peel, core, and slice apples. Well I finally bit the bullet and did it. I've made this pie twice now, and it takes me back to that smell of pie baking in the oven at Grandma's house. I think my favorite thing about this apple pie is that the apples still have a bit of a firmness to them. Not really too firm, but it isn't like biting into apple mush. You could bake it longer, I suppose, to get them super soft, but they hold their shape well, and provide a bit of a chew. I just love it! I modified this from a recipe I found of my Grandma's, mostly because we don't have "oleo" anymore... and I did cheat and used a frozen pie crust for this particular pie. Just because I had baked 10 pies already, and was running low on flour...and the store seemed so very far away.  And, please excuse the background of my photos, I had a craft going on and like I said, 10 other pies going on also!

A good thing to remember when making an apple pie from scratch, the apples shrink as they bake, well I'm not sure if shrink is the proper term, but they get smaller. I used an entire three-pound bag of apples (about a dozen apples) and piled them ALL into the shell:

Apple Pie {like Grandma's}

1/2 cup butter

3 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

8 apples (or about 3 pounds)

Double pie crust

Preheat oven to 425°

Peel and slice apples; pile into a pie crust in a pie dish.

Cover the top of the pie with a lattice crust, cut-out shapes, or with another layer (cut with slits).

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.

Stir in the flour.

Add sugars, water, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer about 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened.

Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla. 

Immediately pour over the top of the pie.

Pour evenly and slowly so it doesn't overflow.

Place pie in the oven (on a baking sheet) and bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350° and continue to bake for 40 minutes.

Remove pie and place on cooling rack.

Let pie cool completely before cutting.