Home Made Apple Pie

Home Made Apple Pie

Ingredients:
    Filling
  • 7 Large Red Apples
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. Flour
  • 1 Tbsp. Corn Starch
  • 1 Tbsp. VT Maple Syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. Butter
    Crust
  • 3 cups Flour
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Softened Butter
  • 2/3 cup Shortening
  • 1/2 + 1/4 cup Cold Milk

Note:

There are many different ways to roll out pie dough. If you've never baked a pie, you should enlist the help of someone who makes great pies to advise you. Or, read a few good cookbooks to learn about methods for creating pastries. I won't be providing all of the little details here.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Combine the apples and all of the filling ingredients (except the butter) in a large bowl. Cover the bowl of filling and set it aside.
Combine the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the pastry mixture resembles corn meal in consistancy. Cut in the shortening until the shortening makes little chunks about the size of peas. Sprinkle in cold milk (about 1/2 cup) while tossing with a fork until the batter balls up around the fork and there are few, if any, loose particles. Roll out 1/2 of the batter into a circle about 2 inches larger than the 10" diameter deep dish pie pan you'll be using. Carefully place the lower pie crust into the pie plate. DO NOT stretch the dough while placing it into the pan. But, grab the outer edges of the dough and compress the dough slightly to tuck it down into the bottom corner of the pan all the way around.
Scoop the filling into the pie plate. But, don't pile it up in the middle if there's too much filling. The filling should be just level with the top edges of the pie pan. Discard any extra filling. Dot the top of the filling with 2 Tbsp. of butter. trim the edges of the dough to the outer edge of the pie plate. Pour about 1/4 cup of cold milk into a short glass. Using a pastry brush, paint the top edge of the bottom crust in the pie plate with milk(this will help seal the crusts together and keep the pie filling from bubbling out).
Roll out the top crust to a circle about 2 inches larger than the pie plate. Place the top crust on the pie plate and trim to about 1/4 inch larger than the bottom crust. Use the pastry brush again to paint the bottom outer edge of the top crust where it meets the painted edge of the bottom crust with more of the milk. Seal the crusts together by rolling the outer 1/4 inch of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and pressing them together. For a nice color, paint the entire top of the pie with milk before baking. Cut several 3/4 inch slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.