The Best Apple Pie Ever

This is a recipe I had made awhile back and decided to pull back out to assist with my surplus of small apples that were a little too bitter for Kent's liking to just eat as snacks. I love apple pie with cheddar cheese - it brings back wonderful memories of visits with my aunt Bobbi. I remember working together in the kitchen to combine all the ingredients for a pie, baking it up, and the next morning enjoying a thick slice with a chunk of good cheddar cheese and a cup of tea with honey. Talk about comfort food and food memories!

It's a very straight forward recipe with a unique twist in the use of maple syrup. I do not layer the apples and the spices, I just toss all my apples with all the filling ingredients together and layer them into the pie and top with the 2nd crust (I like to use the butter flavored shortening in the pie crust but otherwise follow that one exactly). The flavor is wonderful, but you must let it cool completely before slicing in or you get that lovely runny stuff going on!

I did have to cook this one quite a bit longer than the 30-35 minutes called for since I didn't use granny smiths. I cooked for an hour at 350 and then covered with foil and cooked another 20-30 minutes to make sure the apples were fully cooked through.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do - and I would love to hear what kind of memories you have when YOU think of apple pie! :)

The Best Apple Pie Ever By: Laura on allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie
• 5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl; set aside. Press one of the pastries into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan; reserve the crust.
2. Toss the apples with maple syrup and vanilla extract. Spread 1/3 of the apples into the pie pan and sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Repeat the layers with the remaining apples and sugar. Cover the pie with the top crust and pinch the edges to seal.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. 

Pie Crust IV By: Jan Bittner on allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions

1. Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
2. Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.