Laa's Magic Apple Pie

Blast from the past, I made this pie back in September of 2007.

Laa's Magic Apple Pie

Filling Ingredients

• 8-12 apples, peeled and cut into small chunks (use whatever apple you like and cut up enough to fill the pie shell you're using.)
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. wheat flour
• 2 tbs. raw sugar
• 2 tbs. white sugar
• ground cinnamon
• ground clove
• ground nutmeg
• ground coriander
• Rosemary
• Apple Honey Brandy, or sweet alcohol of choice (optional)

Crust Ingredients

(makes enough for a full bottom and top crust, or bottom and lattice top with some to spare)

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
  
• 1 tbs. raw sugar
• 1/3 tsp. sea salt
• 2 sticks chilled butter*, cubed
• 4 tbs. cold water

*(note on butter: you could use Smart Balance or another butter equivalent if you want a vegan or lower fat pie (but come on, it's pie!), but note that those type of butter spreads are softer and wetter, and you will most likely need to use less water and let it chill for a longer period of time.)

For Crust:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Add butter and mix (preferably by hand) until mixture becomes mealy and the butter is in pea sized chunks.
3. Add water and mix gently until all ingredients are combined and there are chunks of butter throughout. Do not over-knead.
4. Roll into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 10 minutes.

For Filling:

1. Peel and cut your apples into small chunks and place aside.
2. In a large skillet or wok, melt the butter, then add the flour and sugars.
3. When combined, add apples and stir until coated in sugars. Allow the apples to cook until they start releasing juices.
4. Add cinnamon, clove, coriander, rosemary and nutmeg to taste. Feel free to add other spices and herbs too, or to subtract some of the ones I added.
5. When the apples soften, add a dash of brandy and cook a few more minutes until most of the alcohol cooks out, Remove from heat. Your apples should look nice and soft and be coated in a browning syrupy type mixture.

The rest of it:

1. Roll out pie dough and place it in pie cooking device of choice.
2. Add apple mixture to the uncooked crust, add top crust and pinch off edges. You can either cut off the crust that hangs over or fold it over and make a super thick crust. (I press the tines of a fork around the edge and cut off the excess. This is apparently terribly confusing to Dio as this is how his family marks and identifies cherry pies. I guess I'm just lazy, this is how I finish a majority of my pies.) I recommend placing aluminum foil around the outer crust to prevent it from burning. (If you feel so inclined, you can also brush a mixture of egg white and white sugar over the top crust to make it all shiny and sweet.)
3. Cook at 375-400 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until the top starts to brown nicely and the apples are sizzling.
4. Take out of the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes.