A is for APPLE… And I LOVE YOU DADDY!

It’s been 2 years since my father made his transition and with Fathers Day fast approaching, June’s newsletter will be a bit harder for me to write. My dad’s life had many challenges. His strength, courage,  and his heartfelt appreciation for everything in his life are the foundation of my own life today. He was a sentimental, kind soul, and always put his best foot forward and always tried to make the world a better place. He was so dedicated to his family and was one of the smartest, kindest people I know.

One of my fondest memories of my father was making pies.  His first introduction to pie was in Nova Scotia, when he first landed by boat from Lebanon to Canada in 1952. As fate would have it 15 years later he was making pies for his own restaurant. This recipe was one of my dad’s favourites ( I don’t think there’s one pie he met that he didn’t like!).  This year in honour of my dear dad and Father’s Day, I am happy to share his favourite pie recipe with all of you. For those of you who haven’t made pie from scratch it’s easy, just remember to add patience, love and tenderness just like my dad taught me.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST

• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled with a knife ( can use pastry flour or gluten free flour )
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ cups cold organic unsalted butter, sliced into 1-inch pieces (or coconut oil)
• 7 tablespoons ice cold water

FOR THE FILLING

• 8 Organic Granny Smith Apples (see note), peeled, cored, sliced ¼-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon organic lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, from 1 lemon
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon organic cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca or arrowroot flour

FOR BAKING

• A beaten egg, cream, or milk, for brushing over crust. Vegans can skip this part
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for topping the pie

CRUST FOR VEGANS

Thanks to my daughter I have refined the recipe to make a vegan pie crust. You can substitute vegan shortening, vegan butter or organic coconut oil instead of butter. I prefer to use coconut oil instead of vegan butter or vegetable shortening. In my opinion, coconut oil leaves more of a subtle balance for my palette. Others love vegan butter, or vegetable shortening, but I ask you – maybe think again? Shortening and butter substitutes have hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as corn, cottonseed or soybean. Partially hydrogenated oil contains trans fat that can raise cholesterol and result in health complications. Any of you who have sensitives or have digestive issues, the less of these substitutes the better. Please take the time to read your labels!  Vegan doesn’t always mean healthy!

If you are on a gluten-free diet or suffer from wheat allergies you’ll be happy that this pie dough can be eaten easily. To make gluten-free simply replace the all purpose flour or pastry flour with a gluten free flour. Flour measures a one to one ratio, however I do recommend using a little bit of extra flaxseed egg which helps the dough stick together. To make a flaxseed egg, stir in 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed into 3 tablespoons of hot water, then set aside for five minutes. It has the same consistency as a regular egg. You can also substitute with an egg substitute (which is essentially potato starch).

QUICK TIPS FOR THE PERFECT PIE CRUST

Tip 1: Do not overwork your pastry! It’s important to work quickly and only make ingredients until they come together. Otherwise the pastry may become crumbly when you roll it out later. Too much kneading releases gluten in the dough which can make the baked pastry tough.

Tip 2: Before further processing the dough should be well chilled for the butter to solidify in the sugar dissolve this makes the dough more stable so that you can work with it easier later it ensures that the sides of your pie crust don’t shrink during baking. What I like to do first is cut the butter or coconut oil into little cubes and then put them in the fridge to become solid again. The smaller cubes makes it faster and easier to mix into the flour.

Tip 3: Make sure that all of the utensils are cold. I store my rolling pin, and knives in the fridge hours before using them. If you are using a kitchen blender you can also store the blender hooks in the fridge before using. I also use ice water in the recipe. All of this helps to keep your butters from melting too much in to the crust ( when this happens your pie crust will be less light and flaky)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by needing all the ingredients into a smooth dough with your hands. Do this quickly so that the butter or oil that you’re using does not melt. You can cut your dough into two ( for the top and bottom of the pie) Remember not to overwork dough, just enough so that things are combined. Separately wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and to low and let simmer.
3. Wash, Peel, core and slice your apples ( coring apples are the hardest part for me until i found an apple corer, makes this whole process a whole that easier )
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
5. After the chill time, take out one ball of dough and roll out the dough between two layers of parchment paper or a floured surface. Carefully lift the dough into the pan and press it firmly and evenly onto the bottom and up the sides, prick the bottom several times with a fork so that the steam produced during baking can escape and base does not rise in a new one.
6. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly and pur the sugar and butter mixture over the apples. Cover top pie dough. Pinch the top and bottom pie dough together to help seal the dough together. You can cut any access dough off, and use water on your fingertips to mold the dough in place
7. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.
8. Let cool for at least an hour before serving. If you cut into it too quickly you will get a runny pie filling instead of a nice consistency. Add ice cream or whipping cream if you wish.
9. Enjoy