With Crisp and Light Pastry
When I am in a hurry, I occasionally serve store-bought apple pie, but I insist that homemade apple pie is always the best. I find store-bought pies too sugary, even though lots of kids love them. How come kids love sugary things? were they born with a sweet palette or is it the fault of the parent that feed them sugary junk from day one?
The most sugary, is usually the pumpkin pie. What in the world is in these store-bought pumpkin pies? It’s usually one huge mushy and sloppy filling, sitting on a crust. Have you ever organized a potluck dinner or lunch and asked someone to bring dessert and guess what they brought? store bought pumpkin pie. I never know what to say…. should you just smile and say thank you or should you tell them to style up and bring something worthwhile next time? The next time I organize a potluck, I shall have some ground rules, for sure.
We enjoyed eating this apple pie. You can also throw in some dried fruits like sultanas, raisins or currants. I wonder why I didn’t do that. Next time. Have a fantastic week!
Always remember to assemble all ingredients before you start. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) 15 minutes before using.
To make pastry: Sieve the flour and the salt into a mixing bowl.
Add vegetable fat(shortening) and butter, rub in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Form a well in the centre and add water. Stir until the dough comes together.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface
and knead very briefly, into a soft and pliable but not sticky dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and divide it into two portions of 300g and 200g. Roll out the 300g dough on a lightly floured surface
and use to line a lightly greased 9 x 1½ inch (23 x 4cm) deep glass pie dish. Trim the edge. Roll remaining 200g dough and set aside. (the dough weighed 500g)
Drain the apples. Mix with in the sultanas, cloves, cinnamon and brown sugar.
and arrange the mixture in the pastry lined dish.
Dampen the edges of the pastry with cold water and carefully place the rolled pastry lid, loosely on top. Trim and seal the edges firmly together. Make a decorative edge by pinching. Brush the top of pie with a little water and make a hole in the centre. Use the remaining pastry to decorate the top. 
Sprinkle lightly with the white sugar and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C), then reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking for 15-20minutes until filling is cooked and pastry is golden brown
Serve hot with custard, whipped cream or ice-cream.
I am trying to loose weight around my waistline, so I grudgingly declined the French vanilla ice-cream, or whipped cream, sigh…..
Apple Pie
Preparation time: 40 minutes; Cooking time:45-50 minutes; Serves: 8 slices
Original recipe from woman’s Own Desserts, By Gina Steer
Ingredients for Shortcrust Pastry
- 300g (10oz) all purpose flour
- Pinch salt
- 65g (2½ oz) white vegetable fat, diced (shortening, vegetable shortening)
- 65g (2½ oz) butter or margarine, diced
- 6-7 tablespoons (90-105ml) cold water (original called for 5 tablespoons)
Ingredients for Filling
- 4-5 medium cooking apples (granny smith), peeled, chopped and soaked in lemon water. (I used 4 apples)
- ½ cup sultanas or raisins or currants
- 6-10 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 75g (3oz) brown sugar (if you want a sweeter filling, add a little more sugar)
- 2 teaspoons sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) 15 minutes before using.
- To make pastry: Sieve the flour and the salt into a mixing bowl. Add vegetable fat and butter, rub in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre and add water. Stir until the dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead very briefly into a soft and pliable but not sticky dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and divide it into two portions of 300g and 200g. Roll out the 300g dough on a lightly floured surface and use to line a lightly greased 9 x 1½ inch (23 x 4cm) deep glass pie dish. Trim the edge. Roll remaining 200g dough and set aside. (the dough weighed about 500g)
- Drain the apples. Mix with the sultanas, cloves, cinnamon and brown sugar. and arrange in the pastry lined dish.
- Dampen the edges of the pastry with cold water and carefully place the rolled pastry lid, loosely on top. Trim and seal the edges firmly together. Make a decorative edge by pinching.
- Brush the top of pie with a little water and make a hole in the centre. Use the remaining pastry to decorate the top. Sprinkle lightly with the white sugar and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C), then reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking for 15-20 minutes until filling is cooked and pastry is golden brown.
- Serve hot with custard, whipped cream or ice-cream.
- I baked for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C) and then reduced the heat to 350°F (180°C) and baked for a further 20 minutes, total 50 minutes.
myfavouritepastime.com
My Favourite Pastime 
I really appreciate your feedback, Liz! I think I have fixed the problem. If you see anything else that isn’t right, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks again!!
Oh yes Shari, the problem is fixed. I am so glad I can land on your blog straightaway through the link on my dashboard. I really enjoyed browsing your blog today. I especially loved the Indian meal, you made for your son. It was like being in a little cozy Indian restaurant.I do enjoy visiting your blog and will be cooking from there soon. Life is bit busy but I know, I’ll find time. Thanks so much for being my blogging buddy. I enjoy our little chats. Take care, Shari!
Liz
I love how you make your recipes from scratch. We (my family & I) love apple pie and this apple pie looks incredibly delicious. I would melt the sugar with a torch for a crispy top. Mm..I wouldn’t mind having a slice with a cup of tea right now; no matter how late. 😀
Hi Anna,
I love from scratch recipes. My mother never cooked anything from a can. Unfortunately, I don’t have a torch for making a crispy top but we did enjoy this one. It wasn’t “torch-crispy” but was crispy enough to be delightful. Enjoy the rest of the week, Anna.
Liz
Same here. Growing up, my mother would cook everything from scratch. I love homemade meals. I try to cook homemade meals for family as much as possible. However, the business of life make it difficult at times, especially with small children..
Torch or not, it’s still look delicious.
Enjoy the rest of the week too, Liz. 🙂
Thank you, Anna. When the going gets tough-the canned food in the cold room are always so handy.
Yes, you are so right. Definitely a life saver, esp. to all moms out there who have little children. 🙂 Have a beautiful Friday, Liz.
Thanks!
Liz
Sure, Liz. 🙂
Hi there Liz! I started a new blog and will be turning the old over to another lady at the Centre. This will all take place on Thursday. I wanted to be able to still follow certain blogs and be able to comment if I so chose and this seemed to be a good way to do it. I do enjoy blogging and also crafting so hope this link takes you to the new site called Kickasscraftsblog. By the way, I could sure go for a slice of that pie right about now! Looks Dee-icious! As does everything else you make!
I was there and left several messages. The apple pie was great while it lasted. We ate it pretty fast. Have a lovely evening!
Liz
I think the messages were defaulting to my other account. I wish I was more savvy about such things. Thanks Liz. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be as computer smart as some people are!
https://kickasskrafts.wordpress.com/2015/05/20/kawaii-bookmarks/
this link is where I left one of the messages. The title of the post is “Kawaii Bookmarks”. Is this not the blog? The comment says it’s awaiting moderation so you should go to the dashboard and look at comments. The other posts are: “Watercolour Galaxies” and “Panda Bookmark” and “Hello there” the author has the name: PIPSQUEAKPANDA is this not the blog?? Have a good evening Sandy
Liz
No, it’s not my blog. Mine is at: https://kickasscraftsblog.wordpress.com/
I wonder why the first link you gave me landed me on the wrong blog, with pictures of a young girl. It was so confusing. But I left several messages there anyway. Funny eh! I am going to your real blog right now. Have a great day, Sandy. Warm regards to your family!
Liz
I looove apple pie! This looks great 🙂
Thank you, Sabrina. It tasted awesome too!
One of my all time faves. I enjoy the filling a little on the sloppy side, meaning apples that are a little mushy rather than crunchy. But that’s just me. This recipe looks like a winner. – Kat
Oh yes that sounds nice too. I would love to eat he sloppy one.
Liz
A work of art! Your crust is beautiful!!!! How do you feel about using lard (manteca) instead of vegetable shortening? It certainly is “old school”. There’s actually a “Lard Cookbook” out there. I was thinking about picking one up.
My mother used to use lard for making pastry. It does make very good pastry. Vegetable shortening is hydrogenated fat and industrially produced lard is often hydrogenated as well. If I can find some nice traditional lard, why not. Have a great weekend, ahead!
Liz
Hi from Germany, Liz! So nice to see your yummy posts in Facebook. You cracked me up with your store-bought pumpkin pie rant. So true. That stuff looks like it fell out of a Pamper.
Omg Karen, all the way from Germany-how exciting. I have truly missed you. Am I ever gonna see you again? Boy you’re so lost. I know what you mean. I can’t stand the so-called-floppy pumpkin pie. It just has never appealed to me no-matter how hard I try. I am so happy to see you. My warmest regards to your lovely family and take good care of yourself!!!
Liz
I really want to try your crust! Tell me, what is ‘while vegetable fat’.. it’s not like Crisco I assume. And I liked the idea of putting cloves in the the apple filling – I’ve never done that!! What a lovely apple pie Liz – and beautifully photographed!!
Hi there love!
Did I call it white vegetable fat? LOL. It’s also called “shortening fat”, “vegetable shortening” or simply “shortening”
It’s any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products.
A popular brand would be Crisco.
I was so frustrated with the photos but after posting, I thought they looked great. Thanks Cecile for popping by. Have a wonderful week.
Liz
P/s I added shortening, vegetable shortening to ingredients list. Have fun!!!!
The pie looks very tempting. As for people bringing store-bought pie – many people don’t bake at all.
Ha ha I agree with you. I never offer to bring something I cannot make…have a fantastic week. I’m glad to see you back on a regular basis!
Liz
Well, it was you who disappeared, not me. 😉 And I am glad to see you too.
Ha ha you caught me on that one!!! Have a great week!
Liz
Bellissima and very good. It’s a traditional way to make Apple pie.
Tastes very traditional and nice too! like grandma used to make. Thank you, Silva!!!
Liz
An absolutely all-time favourite here; I can’t even consider the idea of declining a good portion (like half the pie) of apple pie all for myself 😉
Yours looks simply irresistible!
Besos,
Hey Gal.
Where in the world have you been? I really missed you and missed your posts even more. I’m really glad to see you back.
Besos!
Liz
The thing is that I thought you quit blogging!!! Now that we found each other again, I’m sure we won’t miss a thing any more… 😋
My Dear Rosa
How can I ever stop blogging? I blog because I love eating and I eat because I love blogging. Food and me, are inseparable..I am so glad we have found each other again.
XOXO
Liz
I love apple pie, and your crust looks professional!
Me too. Thanks for the compliments!
Liz
Apple pie is such a classic and I love it. This version is Josh’s favorite, double crust. I’m partial to Dutch Apple with all the streusel on top. As for pumpkin pie, I don’t even like it. Funny since I love all other things pumpkin. I guess no matter what you do to a pumpkin pie it just falls flat for me. There are too many other delicious desserts to spend my calorie intake on!
Hey Gretchen,
I truly admire your energy. You always inspire me. I agree with you totally on pumpkin pie. I’d rather have some nice creamy pumpkin soup or some lovely looking pumpkin swirl bread! Thank God tomorrow is Friday. I am looking forward to the weekend! Best regards to the BOYS.
liz
This is such a gorgeous pie, Liz! Your crust looks incredible. I always admire anyone who makes their own pie crust. Someday I will. I just need to take the plunge. It is difficult to lose weight when you are a blogger isn’t it? By the way, I love your new blog design. It looks so nice! Great to see you posting so much lately. I love your recipes!
My dear,
Your link still directs everybody to your old wordpress.com blog or is that the way you want it? I love your fancy looking header. I’m thinking of lots of fancy things but I just don’t have time. One day I’ll have a fancy logo and header like you. Is Arizona sun still hot or what does the weather look like now? Am so glad we are in touch, again. Enjoy the weekend, ahead!
Liz
Which link are you referring to, Liz? Do you mean on Google? I would love to understand this as people are still following me at the old site, and I can’t figure out why. Thanks so much for letting me know. Thank you for your kind comments about the header. It is still so hot here, but it is supposed to change next week. I am really glad we are in touch again, too! Thanks again for pointing out that problem. I can’t wait to hear what link you mean.
Ok every time you live a message here, to get to your blog, I click the link attached to your name to come to your blog (on my dashboard). Right now this link here brings me to cookasido.com in the earlier two messages the links brought me to cooksido@wordpress.com.
I hope you understand what I mean? Hopefully. Have a good night!
Liz