This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman.  Did any of you catch her show this past Saturday on the Food Network?  She makes everything look so effortless and easy!  How does she do that?

This is a basic, straightforward recipe.  Not complicated.  Simple, even.  Yet somehow, my attempt at baking this pie turned into a small disaster.

Here are a some pieces of advice I have to share with you after my experience today:

#1 For this recipe, PLEASE follow the instructions and place your pie crust on a baking sheet.  Do NOT use a baking stone.  Why do I say this?  Because I had a small fire in my oven tonight.  Yes, a small fire, indeed.  Why a small fire, you ask?  Because the butter that I used to “dot” my pie with consequently melted, dripping off the baking stone and puddling up in a smoky, black mess at the bottom of my oven.  ”Is that smoke coming from the oven?” Macho Man asked as we were just finishing up dinner.  Yikes!  Lots of smoke!  And flames!  Son flees the kitchen as daughter looks on in shock and dismay.  Good thing I bought two boxes of baking soda at the store last week.  I think we used up one of them dousing out the fire!  Whew.

#2 It IS possible to bake a pie in a toaster oven.  Of course, the pie becomes completely disheveled as you transfer it in small portions from said baking stone onto toaster oven baking tray.

#3 If you have a choice in the matter, always purchase an oven that is self-cleaning.  I had never realized until today that my oven is so old it is not self-cleaning.  Wahhh.

#4 Cleaning your oven counts as an upper body workout.

Now that all of that is out of the way, on to the glorious recipe!  And it was glorious…even after all of that!

Flat Apple Pie
(from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)
5 peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples (I didn’t have Granny Smith so I used Golden Delicious)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust (see below)
6 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the apples, flour, lemon juice, sugar, brown sugar and salt.  Set aside.

Roll out two pie crusts into large circles.  Place the circles on large baking sheets.  Place half the apple mixture on one crust and the other half on the other crust.  Fold over the edge of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture.  The more rustic the better!  Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is golden and bubbly.  Allow to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter.  For extra sweetness, drizzle on caramel topping after removing the pies from the oven.

Perfect Pie Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 egg
5 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp white vinegar

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the shortening.  Using a pastry cutter, work it in until the mixture resembles tiny  pebbles.  Lightly beat the egg and add to mixture.  Add in the cold water and vinegar.  Stir mixture until it is just combined, then remove half of the dough from the bowl.

Place dough in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten it with a rolling pin.  After flattening, seal the bag tightly.  Repeat this step with other half of dough.  Place both bags in the freezer.

When you are ready to use a crust, remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw on the counter for 20 minutes.  Remove it from bag and place on lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough from the center outward, gently, until it is completely rolled out.

I have to admit, this was only the second time I have tried a different pie crust recipe other than the one my mom gave me years ago.  The other one was a Martha Stewart recipe and all I can remember was that it involved the food processor and ice.  Too complicated.

Anyways, I love the idea of just being able to pull a pie crust out of the freezer when you need it.  That is definitely handy.  Without a doubt, this recipe yielded a perfectly flaky and flavorful crust.  Macho Man said it was the flakiest pie crust he had ever eaten!  And, when combined with the tasty apple goodness, it was most certainly delicious!  I definitely recommend that you try it….just be sure to follow the directions!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom