Baking Apple Pies

Apple pie baking is just as much of a tradition in my family as picking the apples themselves, that's the primary reason we pick them. For as long as I can remember, a day or so after picking apples we would start the process. There is no recipe for our apple pies, just a eyeball, tactile sort of thing that has been passed down from my Grandma, to my Mom, and now to me. The average number of pies we make each fall is around 15.

We pick a packed bushel, some years we get more, some less. Some years we save some for caramel apples, apple crumbles, or apple dumplings. This year I would like to make apple butter. We bake one apple pie to enjoy for that day, and freeze the rest raw. Then all winter long we can take out an apple pie any time we want. It warms up the house with the delicious smell of cinnamon and on cold, bleak snowy days, we are reminded of the colorful fall bounty.
Each pie takes approximately seven apples, my favorite is Jonathan's but you can mix in some Red Delicious for sweetness and a creamy texture.

The crust is a pile of flour I would say around 3 cups, I can tell when it's right by looking. Then a few heaping spoonfuls of vegetable shortening, and a dash of salt. I cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter until the mixture gets crumbly.

Then I slowly add milk and mix till the dough is pliable.

Flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll out two rounds about 1/4 inch thick.

Usually we have an assembly line, one person rolling, one person washing, peeling and chopping apples.

Lay one crust in a pie crust and fill the crust about half way with chopped apples.
Then I douse with white sugar, and cinnamon.
Fill the pie the rest of the way and douse again. Then I put about five pats of butter around the top.

Fold one of the crust rounds in half and slice small vents before placing it on top of the pie.

Trim the extra.

Then, we do the pinch all the way around to create a scallop and to seal the sides.

Bake for approximately 1 hour on 350 degrees.
Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream or the best is a Marnuche, a runny French Canadian custard that my Mom makes.