
This classic, all-American apple pie won the Grand Champion ribbon at the Lake County Fair in Lake County, IL more times than I can count!
Grand Champion Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup solid Crisco vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large Granny Smith apples, pared, cored, and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 4 Tablespoons flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ cup cold unsalted butter
- Heavy cream, for brushing over crust
Instructions
- Crust: Place flour in large mixing bowl and cut in Crisco with a pastry blender until crumbly. Dissolve the salt in the water and drizzle over flour mixture. Stir lightly with a fork until mixture just holds together. Using floured hands, divide mixture evenly into two balls. Pat each slightly to flatten, and wrap separately in wax paper. Refrigerate at least one hour, or will keep for a couple days.
- To Prepare Pie: Roll out one part of the refrigerated crust on a lightly floured surface to fit into a 9-inch deep dish type pie pan, with the edges slightly overlapping. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the sugar and place in a small cup. Take 2 tablespoons of the flour and mix it with the 2 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle this over the bottom of the pie crust in the pan. Place half the prepared apples in pan. Sprinkle with half the remaining sugar, half the remaining flour (1 Tablespoon), and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Top with the other half of the apples, sprinkle on remaining sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Dot the top with the cold butter bits. Roll out the other crust to overhang slightly and place on top of apples. Tuck under the overhanging dough together and make a high edge, then crimp together. Brush the top of the pie with whipping cream, using about 2-3 tablespoons, enough to cover the whole top. Sprinkle about 1-2 tablespoons of sugar over top, enough to cover it, but not coat it too heavily. Take a sharp knife and cut little slits all over the top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake the pie at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another hour or slightly more until the pie is nice and golden and bubbly. Cool on wire rack.
Recipe by Kristina Vanni
Photo by Kristina Vanni