Celebrating Pi Day with a Classic Apple Pie Recipe

It's Pi Day, and to celebrate I am going to share with you my go to recipe for apple pie.

Now, I'll be the first to admit this isn't a groundbreaking apple pie recipe...there's nothing overly unique or creative about it. It's just a classic apple pie recipe found by my mother in law in a very old cookbook. But while it may be nothing fancy, it is absolutely, positively DELICIOUS!! It is always a huge hit in my household, and I hope it will be in yours as well.

First, let's start with the flaky pie crust. If you want, you can cheat and do a premade or even Jiffy mix, but personally I think nothing beats a homemade crust. This particular recipe makes enough for one pie (with top crust), the apple pie recipe makes two pies, so you can double it, or make separate batches. I prefer to make two batches, as it seems easier to manage that way.

•     3 cup sifted flour
•     1 1/2 tsp. salt
•     1 cup plus 2 tblsp. shortening
•      6 tblsp. water

1.  Using a fork, blend all the ingredients. Form a ball, and divide into two parts.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough lightly from center until the crust is slightly larger than the pie plate. Arrange to plate.

Now let's move onto the pie itself:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar depending on tartness of apples
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 8 cups sliced/peeled Apples
• 1 tblsp. lemon juice 
• 2 tblsp. butter

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare your pie crusts if you haven't already.
3. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
4. Slice and peel your apples (if you make apple pie/deserts etc often- I highly recommend buying an apple peeler- makes the job MUCH faster!). Rinse in cool water and drain.
5. Stir the apples into the dry ingredients until well blended.
6. Divide apple mixture into your two pie plates and dot each with butter.
7. Cover with crust, trim and seal edges with fingers. Cut a few slits on the top crust. (You can get fancier with your crust if you wish, of course! I also sometimes sprinkle the top with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon for a decorative touch!)
8. Bake in oven for 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

As I said, nothing too fancy, but I've found when it comes to deserts, sometimes the classic really are the best! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

How are you celebrating Pi Day? Any favorite pie recipes you'd like to share? As always, I love hearing your thoughts!