The Best Apple Pie I Ever Tasted Flaky Pastry Pie Crust 5 C flour 1 T brown sugar 1/4 t baking powder 1/2 T salt 2 C shortening 1 T vinegar 1 egg, beaten Water Mix dry ingredients together. Cut shortening into dry ingredients until mixture is the consistency of coarse meal. Combine vinegar and egg and add enough water to make one cup liquid. Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball. Avoid overmixing; once it sticks together, that's enough. Divide dough and pat out with hands into desired shape on floured sheet of wax paper (lots of flour!). Put another floured sheet on top (more flour!) and smooth with rolling pin. Transfer to pie dish using the wax paper. Yields five or six 9-inch crusts. Store unused dough (in rolled-out crusts or in balls) in freezer, tightly wrapped. Harvest Apple Pie * Pastry for 2 crusts 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks. If your pie pan is deep enough, you might want to use more apples, as many as 9. If you don't use Granny Smith, make sure your apples are tart! 1 T cornstarch 1/2 t salt 3 T butter, melted 1 t ground cinnamon 3 T sugar 1/3 C light corn syrup 1/2 C light brown sugar 3 T light corn syrup 2 T flour 2 T butter, softened Fill pastry-lined pie pan with apples. I highly recommend using a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet or chicken fryer -- these make a great crust. Combine next 6 ingredients and pour over apples. Cover with top crust; a lattice works best as it allows plenty of steam to escape. If you don't know how to make a lattice, "Joy of Cooking" shows you how. Bake at 425 F for 30-45 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over crust. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until topping is bubbly. pastry for 9 inch one-crust pie 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon dash of salt 8 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples (about 8 medium or 6 large) ingreg. for crumb crust: 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 c. flour 1/3 c. butter or margarine 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg maybe a pinch of cloves and mace Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon & salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Put apple-mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. (You may want to press apples down firmly -- they shrink a LOT!!! You need a real mound of apples to end up with a decent pie). Mix sugar and flour for crumb crust in medium bowl. Cut in margarine; add spices. Put crumbs on top of pie -- you'll probably need to press them onto apples to keep them from falling off. Bake for 10 minutes; then lower to 350 and bake for 40 more. Check for doneness with fork. This recipe is a mixture that was partly based on the Betty Crocker cookbook. It has a top crumb crust,rather than a full crust & some sweet dear elderly lady selling pastry at the country fair..God Bless her Mock Mincemeat Pie * "There are many variations of this theme, imitating the pie that in former days begain with the simmering of a piece of venison, neck of beef, or beef tongue. This is a rich pie, but does not require the long simmering of a true mincemeat filling." 1 1/2 cups seedless or seeded raisins 1/3 cup dry sherry or brandy or rum 3 cups finely chopped apple 1/2 medium-size orange ground with peel 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon mace 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon ginger Pastry for two double-crust 8-inch pies or one double-crust 10-inch pie 1/2 cup melted butter Put the raisins in a mixing bowl and add the sherry or brandy, letting the fruit soak up the liquor while you prepare the crust and peel the apples. Add all the ingredients for the filling. If using two pie pans, line with pastry, trim, and moisten the edges. Divide the filling into the pans and pour half the butter in each. Top with pastry, trim, crimp the edges, and cut slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape. If using one large pie pan, it should be about 2 inches deep. Bake at 450 degrees 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake 8- inch pies about 25 minutes longer and 10-inch pies about 35 minutes. Serve warm in small pieces with a sauce flavored with brandy, rum, sherry, or lemon. Note: This pie may also be made with a lattice crust. Raisin Pie Pastry for two-crust 8 or 9 inch pie 1 1/2 cups raisins 1 1/2 cups water 3 tablespoons flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 to 3/4 cup white or brown sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional) 1/2 teaspoon mixed cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg 2 tablespoons butter Simmer the raisins in the water about 5 minutes, or until they begin to plump. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar, and slowly stir in some of the hot liquid in which the raisins have cooked. When well combined, turn into the raisins and liquid and cook and stir until thickened. Remove from the heat, let cool a few minutes, and add the remaining ingredients. Cool to room temperature. Trun into a pastry- lined pan, trim and moisten the pastry edge, and top with pastry. Trim and crimp the edges and cut slits in the top. Bake at 450 degrees 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees and bake aobut 25 minutes more, or until the pastry is nicely browned. Serve hot, warm, or cold. If served hot or warm the pie is sometimes topped with a slab of aged Cheddar cheese, or accompanied by a rum, sherry, or lemon sauce. Serve cold with ice cream or with these. Raisin Crisscross Pie 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar 2 Tbsp. Corn Starch 2 Cups Raisins 1/2 Tsp Finely Shredded Orange Peel 1/2 Cup Orange Juice 1/2 Tsp Finely Shredded Lemon Peel 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice 1 1/3 Cups Cold Water 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts Pastry for Lattice Top Pie In a sauce pan, combine brown sugar and corn starch. Stir in raisins, orange peel, orange juice, lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. remove from heat, stir in walnuts. Fill a pastry-lined 9 inch pie plate with raisin mixture. Adjust lattice crust; flute edge. Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 20 more minutes or until crust is golden. Makes 8 servings. Pastry for Lattice Top Pie * 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 Tsp Salt 2/3 Cup Shortening 6 to 7 Tbsp. Cold Water In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over part of the mixture, gently toss with a fork. Push to side of bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Form dough into a ball. Divide dough in half. Take half, on a lightly floured surface, flatten dough with hands. Roll dough from center to edge, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll onto a 9 inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie. When pie shell is full with filling, roll out other half of pie pastry. Cut pastry into 1/2 inch wide strips. Weave strips on top of filling to make a lattice crust. Press ends of strips into rim of crust. Fold bottom pastry over the lattice strips, seal and flute. Bake as directed in individual recipe. Raisin Sour Cream Pie - Betty Crocker 9 inch baked pie shell - follow directions for pie pastry above, except use 1 1/4 Cups Flour, 1/2 Tsp Salt, 1/3 Cup Shortening, 3 to 4 Tbsp. Cold Water - When shell is rolled out and placed in pie plate, flute edges, and prick the shell (bottom and sides) with the tines of a fork. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Cool (leave in pie plate) on a wire rack. 1 1/2 Tbsp. Cornstarch 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp. Sugar 3/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg 1/4 Tsp Salt 1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream 1 1/2 Cups Raisins 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice 3 Egg Yolks - Save whites for Meringue Brown Sugar Meringue Mix corn starch, sugar, nutmeg, and salt in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir in sour cream. Stir in raisins, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into baked pie shell. Prepare meringue 3 Egg Whites 1/4 Tsp Cream of Tartar 6 Tbsp. Packed Brown Sugar 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a 2 1/2 quart bowl until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla. Spread meringue over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinkage or weeping. Bake at 400 degrees until delicate brown, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate any remaining pie immediately. 8 servings, 515 calories per serving. Biscotti Bread * 4 cups flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup butter -- cold 1/4 cup lard -- cold 4 whole eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 tablespoon anise seed 1 cup almonds -- ground Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut butter and lard into mixture. Beat eggs slightly and beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Quickly stir egg mixture, anise seed, and almonds into dry ingredients. Turn out on a floured board and knead until dough is no longer sticky. Divide dough into 6-8 pieces. Roll with hands into long rolls. Place rolls on greased baking pans and flatten slightly with hands. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Slice each roll diagonally into 3/4 inch pieces. Return to baking pan, cut side up, and bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake 5 minutes more.