Recipe: Spry Spicy Apple Pie

Rustic Apple Pie

I've been fooling around with a vintage Apple Pie Recipe for a long time now and finally nailed it the other day.  This recipe is from the Spry Cookbook "What Shall We Cook Today?" although it has been modified slightly so that it will turn out better.  I don't know if apples are just different from what you used to be able to get (This is what dad tells me and he's 66), but I've never been able to make a proper apple pie from a vintage recipe.  They always come out runny and not cooked enough.  So here's the recipe:

Spry Spicy Apple Pie Recipe (Modified)

Crust

2 1/2C Sifted Flour
1tsp Salt
3/4C Crisco Shortening, divided
@8T COLD Water

Sift the flour before measuring and place in bowl with salt. Add half of shortening and work into flour well until it resembles corn meal.  Add other half of shortening and cut in until you get bean sized pieces.  Add water and lightly work into dough with your hands.  You want it to come together into a ball well but not be soggy and overworked, you may have to add more water 1T at a time until you get it right.  form dough into 2 equal balls and place in fridge.

Filling

Enough apples to fill a 9" pie pan (3-6) sliced about 1/8" thick
1T Lemon Juice
1/2C Brown Sugar
1/2C White Sugar
1/2tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
1/8tsp Salt
1tsp Cinnamon
1T Cornstarch
1T Flour

Just missing the Ice Cream

Slice the apples and mix well with lemon juice to discourage browning and set aside.  Mix together remaining ingredients and set aside.  Roll out you bottom crust and place in pie pan, mix together apples and sugar/spice mixture well and dump into pie crust making a mound in the center.  Dot with 1T butter.  Roll out top crust and place over apple pie.  Fold edge over and crimp with a fork.  Cut vents in top crust to let steam escape and brush crust with 1egg, beaten.  Place in refrigerator while you warm the oven to 425°, place pie in oven when ready and cook 20 minutes then reduce heat to 375° for 40 mins more.  Check pie when 10 mins remain and loosely cover with foil if necessary to prevent scorching.

The end result is about the most rustic pie you can imagine but my does it taste good.  Better than anything bought in a store.

Yield 6 Slices

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