Favorite Apple Pie

Our friends, the Petersons, always come up with the best party themes! This year, for Jon's birthday, they held a cook off, Iron Chef Philadelphia. Each guest was given a secret ingredient to include in any dish they wanted to make, and then brought it to the party to share. Our secret ingredient was Apple. Now that food is yummy again (the thought/smell/taste of it doesn't send me running for the bathroom), I was excited for an excuse to make Apple Pie, which I haven't made in forever. I had two new recipes I had never used before, so I made one of each and had everyone vote on which was their favorite. There was a definite winner, and the recipe is posted below.

The party worked out perfectly, because some people made appetizers, some made main dishes and others made desserts. There were some very impressive creations, but all of our culinary skills were beat out by the EQ President, Greg. His wife is out of town, so he was all on his own. He whipped up one of those instant chocolate pudding pies in an Oreo crust with heath bar pieces and cool whip on top. It was delicious!!! His instant pudding pie even beat out a Martha Stewart Snowman shaped Cheese Ball!

OK, so here is the Apple Pie recipe, it is out of the King Arthur Flour cookbook. It is simple, but delicious.

One 9-inch double piecrust
2 TB unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 to 1 cup sugar (depending on the tartness of the apples)
1 tsp apple pie spice (You can either buy it, or make your own. I used a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and ground cardamom)
1/4 tsp salt

4 to 5 cups (1 1/2 to 2 lbs) cored, peeled and diced apples (Granny Smith, Cortland or other baking varieties. It is recommended that you use more than one kind of apple in your pie.)
1 TB vanilla extract
2/3 cup half-and-half, light cream or heavy cream (I used heavy cream, of course)
2 tsp sugar mixed with 1/8 tsp cinnamon for topping

Remove the pie crust dough from the refrigerator. If it has been chilling longer than 30 minutes, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is pliable. Roll once piece out to about 13 inches in diameter and carefully transfer it to a 9-inch pie pan. Using a pair of scissors, trim it to a 1-inch overhang and fold the edges under. Use the trimmed-off pieces to patch any of the rest of the crust, if necessary.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices and salt. Add the apples (cut into 1/2-inch dice) and toss to combine thoroughly. Add the vanilla and the cream and stir well. Spoon the filling into the crust. Roll the second crust to a diameter of 10 to 11 inches, lay it on top of the filling and crimp to seal. Brush the top crust with milk then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet, to catch any spills. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is medium-brown and the juices are clear and bubbly. If the crust appears to be browning too quickly, cover it with a pie crust shield or strips of aluminum foil.

Note: If you are using a light or shiny pan rather than a dark one, be sure to bake the pie for at least 50 minutes at 350 degrees to ensure the bottom crust is done.