Luscious Apple Pie

I've had pie on my mind

after watching the new PBS documentary,

A Few Good Pie Places

Rose's Luscious Apple Pie

was an all day venture.

From letting the apples macerate and release their juices

to the multiple dough chillings.

First off was making Rose's cream cheese pie dough.

I used Nancy's tip to grate in the butter and

it worked like a charm.

Flour with butter and cream cheese

Apples macerating patiently

for the full three hours. 

Thickening apple cider with corn starch

insured an added flavor boost for the

sliced apples.

Apple season just opened and the fresh

ciders haven't really come into the markets.

I found one store with one brand.

The concern has been with the extreme drought,

apples might not be up to par this year.

Surprisingly, the first reports from 

local mountain orchards indicate

they are bigger and sweeter than ever.

The macerated juices are brought to a boil 

with butter.

Lovely aroma, this!

Apples tucked into the pie crust and soused with

these wonderful apple-y sauces,

ready for the oven

I have no idea why this pie took so long to bake.

A good hour past Rose's time.

I tented the pie lest it over brown.

I ran into the same problem I had with 

the cherry pie.

The instruction to bake until the juices bubble through the slits,

just doesn't work for me.  

This pie baked and baked and baked.

I need the exact internal temperature to measure.

I googled and found out it should have reached 175 degrees F

but I'm not certain that is correct.

It didn't occur to me that unless the apples' juices boiled as it baked,

the corn starch added to the apple slices

would not thicken unless it reached 212 degrees F.

And that's what happened.

The crust and apples were more than done, the juices were slightly bubbling but I cut into apple pie soup,

even though the pie had cooled for hours.

I drained as much as I could and brought it to 212 F on the stove.

I've become Thermapen co-dependent! 

Letting it cool and spooning over slices, it is amazing,

even if it doesn't exactly look pretty.

This was the first time I grated nutmeg

to add with the cinnamon.

I love how I learn new things with Rose. 

And then I made more buttery apple cider sauce!

~

The Baking Bible

by

Rose Levy Beranbaum