American Apple Pie (Recipe)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 cups peeled and sliced cooking apples

Pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Sugar

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice and cornstarch until well blended.

3. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar and sugar, butter or margarine, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and the cornstarch mixture.  Add the apple slices and toss to coat the slices completely.  Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

4. Roll out half of the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a pastry cloth or a lightly floured piece of waxed paper.

5. Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin by lifting the pastry cloth or waxed paper to guide the pastry onto the rolling pin; the pastry should slide easily onto the pin.  Then slowly roll the pin to wrap the pastry around it.  Loosely unroll the pastry onto the pie plate, being careful not to stretch the dough.  To repair any tears in the pastry, moisten the edges with a little water and press together.  Trim the pastry even with the rim of the pie plate.

6. Fill the pastry-lined pie plate with the apple mixture.  Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water.

7. Roll out the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle on the pastry cloth or waxed paper.  Follow step 5 to transfer the pastry and place it over the filled crust.  Trim the top crust 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the plate. Fold the top crust under the bottom crust; flute the edge.  Cut several vents in the top crust and brush the whole top crust with the egg yolk mixture.  Lightly sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake the pie in the 400° oven about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  If necessary, cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over browning.

Tips:

Get a jump on your next pie by making the pastry ahead and freezing it.  Roll the pastry into rounds and stack them, 2 sheets of waxed paper between each layer.  Seal the rounds in a large, freezer-safe plastic bag or container and freeze for up to 8 weeks.  To use the frozen pastry, thaw the rounds, covered, while you make the filling.