Big Apple Pie #40

                             




                                      Big Apple Pie  (page 233)


3 pounds red or golden apples, 2 or 3 different kinds,
 peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple cider, or apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

several grindings of black pepper

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

pastry for pie shell and top

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

Whipped cream or ice cream for serving


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place apples in a large bowl. Add sugar, apple cider or vinegar, cinnamon, salt, pepper and flour. Mix well.

2. Line a deep-dish 9 or 10 inch pie pan with half the pastry, leaving a generous top edge. Prick bottom of pastry shell with tines of a fork. Transfer apples to pie pan, mounding slightly in center. Cut butter into bits, and distribute over apples.

3. Cover apples with the other half of the pastry. Trim around edges, and crimp the top and bottom pastry together. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the pastry with the egg wash.With a sharp knife, make a hole in the center of the pastry. Make 5 cuts, each about 3 inches long, radiating from the center hole.

4. Put the pie pan on a baking sheet, and bake on the lower level of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake for about 50 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream. Serves 8-10 people.