Apple Pie

We had a bunch of apples lying around, so I made a pie today. I usually only make this pie once a year, at Thanksgiving. So, when I added the cinnamon to the apples and I smelled the combination, it felt like the holidays and made me happy.

This pie has gotten me loads of compliments. No, that's an understatement. This pie initially renders people speechless, and then they start falling over themselves to pay me compliments, usually in gibberish. Women ask me for the recipe and men ask me to marry them. True story!

Here is the recipe:

Tools
9" pie plate
small bowl
medium bowl
large bowl
cookie sheet

Ingredients
1 folded refrigerated pie crust
Topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick cold butter or margarine
Filling
6-7 apples (Granny Smith or Pippin are good)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 T flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Put oven rack in lowest position in oven. Heat oven to 450F. Line 9" pie plate with the pie crust, according to package directions.

Topping: Mix all dry topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture forms moist, coarse crumbs.

Filling: Peel, halve, and core apples. Cut in 1/8" thick slices. (Or, use one of those apple machine things. A big timesaver.) Put into a large bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Toss mixture in large bowl until apples are evenly coated.

Pour apples into pie shell, mounding higher in the center. Pour topping evenly over apples and pat it down with your hands to form a top crust.

Put pie on cookie sheet to catch drips. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Bake 45 minutes longer or topping is golden brown and a skewer meets some resistance when center of pie is pierced. Apples will continue cooking after pie is removed from oven. If topping is browning too quickly, tent with foil.

8 servings. Per serving: 538 calories, 4g protein, 90g carbs, 20g fat, 43 mg cholesterol if made with butter (0 mg w/ margarine), 202 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 starch/bread, 3.5 fruit, 4 fat.
Oxalate group: medium.