Apple pie

As made by Ginny Yund/Janet Chapple


Crust

Mix together: 2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
Add:

2/3 cup shortening, 1/3 cup at a time

I use about 1/3 cup of Crisco (on the can, it says: "partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils"--don't know if you can get something similar) and split the other 1/3 cup between lard and margarine. The lard seems to be essential, but you might use part butter, also. Do not make more than 1/4 of the shortening lard, or the dough gets too crumbly to handle well.

Fold in the first 1/3 cup with 2 knives until it is fine-grained. Fold in the remaining 1/3 cup until medium-grained. Add 4 T. or a little more ice water and blend with a fork. Dough should clean the bowl when you have the right amount of water, so add a little at a time after the first 4 T.

Avoid handling the dough any more than necessary. Form 2 flat, thick patties and allow to sit (in waxed paper) in refrigerator 2 hours or more (even overnight is OK).

Filling

6 to 8 large apples

tart green ones are good. I like Baldwins best. Pare and cut in small pieces. Stir into apples:

2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/2 T. flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 T. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Dot with 1 T. butter bits after filling crust. Before putting top crust over the apples, run a finger dipped in ice water along edge of lower crust & press upper crust edges to seal it. Flute edge with thumbs or fork. Make a few fork holes in top crust to let out steam.

Bake at 450 degrees F. (232 C.) for 10 min., then at 350 (177 C.) for about 30 min.