A is for Apple pie

ABC Wednesday

The letter is A

And the most appealing A I can think of right now is a delicious piece of APPLE PIE, fragrant with spices,  swimming in golden syrupy juices, with the apples encased in the most crisp and tender double crust sour cream pastry!

I have come across many elegant and complicated recipes for APPLE PIE, but here is a lovely simple version, and we all know that simplicity is at the heart of all goodness.

Here is Grandma Thompson's Prize-Winning Apple Pie as submitted to a Canadian Living contest.

an aside - I had a Grandma Thompson, and my mother was a Grandma Thompson to our children, and although I don't think this recipe refers to those particular Grandma Thompsons they were certainly prize winners in the arena of Apple Pie creations as far as their families were concerned.

This is what you will need......

1 Double-Crust Sour Cream pastry recipe  (Google it...)
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp coarse sugar

and for the filling....

8 apples, preferably McIntosh
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch groundnutmeg
1 pinch salt
2 tbsp. butter, softened

peel and core the apples, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Place them in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt;  add to the apples and toss until well coated.

Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface, 1/8 of an inch thick,  fit into a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim to leave a 3/4 inch overhang; fold over and flute the edges.

Put the filling into the pie shell, dot with butter.  Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tbsp. water, brush it over the pastry rim  and cover with the remaining pastry, rolled out, of course. Fold the overhang under the bottom pastry rim, seal and flute the edge.  Brush the remaining egg mixture over the pastry.

Cut steam vents in the top - as fancy as you wish (how about a maple leaf);  sprinkle with course sugar.

Bake in the bottom third of a 450F oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 65 minutes.  Let cool on rack.

Enjoy!!!  A perfect old fashioned Canadian recipe, and I have no trouble at all in imagining my own Grandma Thompson creating it on the table in her own small pantry.  Thanks to Canadian Living.

For more great A's click here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Denise, Roger and all who help to make this meme as interesting and delightful as it always is.