What is your favorite kind of pie? Mine isn't apple - but since we left our cherry trees in Michigan and have apple trees now, I make apple pie.

Our apple trees were really productive this year. I've canned apples and more apples and even more apples, and have made several desserts of baked apples (hubby's favorite), and I still have apples waiting to be "fixed into something."

The USDA doesn't recommend canning ready-made apple pie filling with thickener added, but I've frozen apple pie filling in quart-size bags. You can also can pie filling without thickener, just add it when you make the pie.

This is how to make a pie crust the easy way. An apple pie uses two crusts, or one plus a streusel topping.

I use a variety of apples in my pies. Combining several kinds gives a deeper, richer flavor and texture than using just one variety. I also like my pie to be juicy, so I use less flour or cornstarch than most recipes. This is my current favorite:

APPLE PIE

2 Tbsp lemon juice
6-8 apples (depending on their size), peeled and cored
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of allspice
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp butter

Peel and core the apples, cut into thin slices. Toss apple slices with lemon juice to coat. Add sugar, flour, spices and salt, mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust if using, seal the edges and cut slices or poke holes in the crust.

Put a baking sheet on the oven rack beneath the pie. Bake at 425°F for 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is brown and juice begins to bubble up through the slits in the crust. Serve warm or chill and serve later.

Photo by E. Nemscok, used with permission.

Since I plan to can this filling, I'll leave out the flour until I'm ready to make a pie. Then I'll just pour off the juice into a saucepan, whisk in the flour, let it heat a bit, pour over the apples in the crust, and bake as directed. Yum!


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