THIS IS THE PIE RECIPE I USED FOR MY (our) WEDDING AND IT IS JUST SO STINKIN' GOOD I CAN'T EVEN STAND IT! seriously, it's real...real good.
first, let's give you some background. we had an outdoor wedding and decided pie was the way to go. i like pie more than cake anyway...most of the time. so i was on a mission to bake about 30 pies the day before my wedding when my b-maid came up with the idea to pre-make the crusts and filling and just freeze it. so we did. we marathon-styled 30 balls of pie dough and all the glorious apple pie filling about two months before the wedding. then we just popped it right on in the freezer and the next time we looked at it, it was being packed in a cooler to bring to mccall. then, the day before the wedding my glorious, beautiful, amazing b-maids in addition to my moms, mom-in-law, and my sweet cortney took over two kitchens and baked some serious apple pie. woo-dawgy. and let me tell you: they. were. yum. (side note - this could very well be because i hadn't eaten anything other than chicken breast, rabbit food and air-popped p-corn for about four months...but dang i looked good.)
i now present: WEDDING APPLE PIE (but may be used for any occasion or random day)
(another note - filling recipe was bequeathed to me from dear, sweet cathie who learned of said recipe from her dear, sweat grandma. the pie crust recipe is from
smitten kitchen which i learned about from one of my most favorite people in the world (with the best pecs, might i add), casey.)
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| cast of characters for both the filling and crust |
DOUGH:
2 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold (i actually like salted butter for pies because it creates a sweet/salty effect.)
- now gather all your ingredient, my dear. you're going to want a dish filled with ice water, large mixing bowl, measuring cups/spoons, pastry blender (or a fork if you're up for the challenge).
- whisk together flour, sugar and salt.
- dice your butter into 1/2 inch cubes. yep...all of it. this takes awhile.
- sprinkle your butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with your pastry blender or fork. you'll continue to blend until the butter is about the size of tiny peas. at this point, there is a really good chance you're going to want to taste what you've muscled together. i enthusiastically encourage you to do this. but stop after a few pinches. you'll get sick. you really will. i know from experience.
- now you're going to glue the dough together. begin drizzling the icy cold water in. start with 1/2 c. use your rubber spatula. keep drizzling the water, adding by about a tbsp. each time. you'll use an additional 1/4 - 1/2 c.
- you're going to feel like it's not sticky enough to hold. it is. trust. try not to handle the dough too much as the heat from your hands will melt that butter! you DO NOT want to melt that butter. trust.
- gather the dough together with your little hands into a big ol' clump and divide it into two equal parts. wrap the equal parts into two plastic wraps. place in the fridge for at least an hour.
that's it! your dough is made. yum! seriously, yum. it's nothing to joke about.
FILLING:
2 16 oz cans of apple pie filling - rinse them. drain them. get rid of anything
they thought would be good.
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
- mix everything in a bowl
- taste to make sure it's not poisonous
- did you live? taste again to celebrate living
now you're going to want to take the dough out of the fridge. roll it out. i don't want to tell you how to roll it out because, quite frankly, i stink at it. basically i just roll it out until i think it's big enough to fit in the pie pan. then i fold it into fourths, place it in the pie pan, and unfold it. voila! now plop the filling in. taste it again. heck...you should even lick the bowl. seriously. do it. now you're going to want to roll your second ball of dough out. you can do a lattice crust or any fancy tutorial you're brave enough to find online. or you can keep it simple and classy - roll it out and pinch the perimeter. beautiful. bake it at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes. i'm a skittish baker and tend to check on my pie every five minutes for the final 20.
forgive me - i did a horrible job picture-documenting my baking process. this is the pie i brought to thanksgiving dinner:
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| my balls of pie dough, prepped and ready for the fridge |
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this is where you dump the peeled and sliced ooey-gooey, gelatin like apples into the colander to get rid of
all the junk you don't want. rinse extremely well so that you can add your own delish spices! |
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so at this point the apples have been rinsed and i've added in all the ingrediants for the
filling. now you just stir, stir, stir. or maybe it's more of a fold. you don't want to mush your apples.
no no. just make sure they are evenly coated. then you get to taste. yum. |
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see that excess dough in the top left of the picture. i ate that. i rubbed it around
the empty bowl that had the filling in it and ate it. about 10 minutes later i felt sick. |
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then i used a handy cookie cutter and made the leaves/top crust. and you can bet
that if there was a bad-lookin' leaf *pop* right into my mouth. |
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| finished product! double yum. |
if you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment! i know my instructions were not super clear...but it was my first go. i'll get better.
