Apple Pie
An Apple a Day
This classic recipe is a slice of delicious nostalgia. Sweet and tart Nova Scotia apples mingle with cinnamon and sugar, making it a great dessert for any time of year! Serve with vanilla ice cream or sharp cheddar for extra flavour.
Ingredients for the Filling
| 6-8 apples | McIntosh or Gravenstein |
| 1 lemon | Juice of one lemon |
| 3/4 cup | Sugar |
| 1 /4 cup | All purpose flour |
| 1 tsp. | Cinnamon |
| 1/4 tsp | Salt |
| 3 tbsp. | Salted butter |
Ingredients for the Pie Crust
| 1 3/4 cups (plus one tbsp.) | All-purpose flour |
| 1/2 tsp. | Salt |
| 1/3 lb. | Lard |
| 1 tsp. | Egg, beaten |
| 1 tsp. | White vinegar |
| Ice water | |
| Extra flour for dusting surfaces | |
| 1 egg OR 1/4 cup cream | For brushing the pastry |
Directions
- To begin making the dough, stir the flour and salt together then cut in the lard with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until the shortening is in pea size pieces.
- In a ⅓ measuring cup, combine one tablespoon of egg and white vinegar. Top the rest of the measuring cup with ice water. Stir gently.
- Drizzle the water mixture over the flour mixture, and using a wooden spoon, mix together until it forms a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Peel, core and slice apples, keeping as much of the apple as possible. Drizzle the apples with lemon juice, toss and set aside.
- In a small bowl, thoroughly whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- Pour the sugar mixture onto the apple slices, and toss until the apples are evenly coated.
- Preheat the oven to 425 f.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into two equal portions.
- Lightly flour the work surface and roll dough into two equal-sized rounds. Use the pie pan as a measure for the size; the pie dough should exceed the edge of the pan by 1-1 ½ inches.
- Put the crust base into the pie plate and fill it with apples. The apples should make a mound that goes an inch or two above the top of the pie plate.
- Take the 3 Tbsp of chilled butter and pinch small pieces off and place all over the top of the apples.
- For the pie top, roll the remaining dough and cut into eight straight strips. Start by laying 4 strips down all in the same direction, then start the cross section, going over and under. VIDEO
- Cut the extra dough off with scissors to ½ inch overhang from the pie plate, then fold the dough over the edges and either pinch or press down with a fork.
- Once the pie is ready to bake, brush the crust and top with either beaten egg or heavy cream.
- Cover the crust with tinfoil.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until pie is golden brown. Remove the tinfoil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Let cool for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Preparation time: 30 minutes active, 1 hour 30 minutes total
Serves: 6-8
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Local Source Guide
Local Apples: Noggins Corner Farm Market, Masstown Market, Stirling Fruit Farms Ltd., or your local Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia.
Recipe and Photography provided by: Jessica Emin, @eatwithjessie
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