Cookerati

When my mother in law called me the other day and asked me if I could bake an apple pie for her party today, I took it to be a great compliment. My mother in law is one of the best Chinese home cooks in the U.S. and she’s very picky about the foods she serves to her guests. Every holiday she calls me and asks me to make my apple pie – but I usually make two so she can enjoy one at home after her guests leave.

This is a recipe I found online but tweaked over the years. My family loves it and I hope yours does too. I use a prepared crust because I haven’t mastered the art of making a pie crust yet, but by all means, use your homemade crust as I’m sure it’s much better than what you can buy in the supermarket.

Deb’s Holiday Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1 bottom and 1 top pie crust
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 10   apples – peeled, cored and sliced (I like to use a variety of sweet & tart)

Nitty Gritty

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F . Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, sugars, cinnamon and vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

2. Place apples in a large bowl and mix with butter and sugar mixture leaving out enough of the mixture to brush over the top crust.

3 . Place the bottom crust in your pan and fill with apples. Cover with the top crust. Brush the crust with the left over butter mixture.

4. Bake 15 minutes . Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F  and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

My favorite dessert in the world is Apple Pie A la Mode, so I like to service this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top. My mother in law likes it with some freshly whipped cream. However you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.