Favorite Apple Pie

My husband just went rummaging sale-ing.  It is one of his favorite things to do, and he seems to believe we can never have too many kitchen gadgets.  Anyway, he bought a little topper that is supposed to be placed on an apple pie while it cooks and will leave little apple shapes browned into the crust.  He also bought apples.  I think I am about to bake a pie. 

There are many variations on apple pie, of course.  And then there is apple crisp, apple betty, apple cobbler, apple cake, and so on.  There is one for apple crisp and one for apple cake to be found right on this very blog--as well as apple rhubarb pie, apple peach pie and some other combos.. 

I love all of them, but this is my go-to recipe when I just want delicious, can't-be-beat, old style and basic-but-fabulous apple pie. 

Ingredients

Pastry for two-crust pie
6 large tart apples
2 Tbs. flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. butter or regular margarine (not the soft kind)

What to Do

•  Peel and slice apple into saucepan.  Add 1/4 cup cold water and bring to a simmer.  Simmer about 5 minutes or till just tender. Cool.
• Fill pastry-lined 9 inch pie pan with apples.
• Combine remaining ingredients, except butter.  Sprinkle over apples.  Dot with butter.  Moisten edges of bottom crust.
• Adjust top crust.  Cut six vents like chevrons, one in each piece.
• Bake in very hot oven (450 F.) for ten minutes.  Reduce heat to moderate (350 F.) and bake 45 minutes.  Makes 6 servings.

Variation: Caramel apple pie 

Cover bottom pastry with 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine.  Spread 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar over the butter.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.  Now follow the above recipe except use only 1/4 cup brown sugar.  This makes a luscious caramelized pie.