Shannon's Apple Pie

Being in cooking class has been a great experience for me. Because of this class I can become more independent at home and not be such a burden in the kitchen. Maybe I won’t burn dinner, now. I can also help my mom cook and bake so she won’t have to set the house on fire with the Easy Bake Oven. One of the most memorable moments so far has been creating the apple pie. Since it was our first project, it was very interesting attempting to perfect it. Surprisingly our pie tasted better than it looked when we were making it. I got to work with Shelby, which made the process even more interesting! Working with her was a lot of fun, though. Making the apple pie was a lesson. Being our first “experiment,” we got to make mistakes and learn from them. I can’t wait to find out what other experiments Mrs. Hoelscher has in store for us.


Our Apple Pie Recipe adapted from the Joy of Cooking

Basic Pie Dough
•Sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour and one teaspoon of salt.
•Measure and combine 2/3 cups chilled leaf lard or shortening.
Cut half of the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, or work in lightly with the tips of your fingers until it has the grain of cornmeal. Cut the remaining half coarsely into the dough until it is pea size.
•Sprinkle the dough with 4 tablespoons of water.
Blend the water lightly into the dough. You may lift the ingredients with a fork, allowing the moisture to spread. If needed to hold the ingredients together, add 1 teaspoon to one tablespoon of water.
When you can gather the dough up into a tidy ball, stop handling it.


Apple Pie
•Line a 9-inch pie pan with a pie dough (Basic Pie Dough above).
•Pare, core, and thinly slice 5 to 6 cups of apples.
•Combine and sift over the apples: ½ to 2/3 cup white or brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoons of salt, 1 to 1½ tablespoons of cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg.
•Stir the apples gently until they are well coated.
•Place them in layers in the pie shell and dot with 1½ tablespoons of butter.


Tips from Shannon
•Add the extra water and possibly more to keep your pie dough together
•Roll it as much as possible so it hangs over the pan
•Use EXACT measurements