Want to make a pie that will delight and spook your guests this Halloween season? Well have we got a pie for you. Its a simple and delicious apple pie recipe, with just one extra step of cutting out a Jack Skellington face in the crust prior to baking. This pie is a great way to use all those delicious in season apples that are around, while adding a little fun unexpected flare to your desert. 

PEGGYS PIE CRUST

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

2/3 cup shortening + 2 tbs.

8-10 Tbs. Cold water

In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt. Cut in Shortening. To cut in shortening a pastry blender works the best. If you don't have one a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick. Anyway the flour mixture should resemble smallpeas. Add cold water and barley stir. To much working with the dough causes a tough crust. Gather dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Cut the dough in half. If not using the other half for your dough for the top crust. I always roll it out into a pie pan and freeze. Roll out dough on a boardusing a small amount of flour so dough does not stick. Line pie pan with dough leaving enough extra around the edges for a good crusty edge. If you are putting a top crust on make sure you cut some slits for the stream to escape. Happy pie Making

If your dough doesn't come out perfect, no big deal. Just patch it with extra dough. Once it's cooked no one will care or know.

THE PIE FILING:

6-7 large apples

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 of the juice of a lemon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs flour

Peel and cut apples into wedges. About 6-7 large apple. Toss the apples with sugar (depends of the tartness of the apples and how sweet you like things. I would say 1/2 -3/4 cups sugar). Now toss in a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and about 2 Tbs. flour. A little trick I do is sprinkle a little sugar onto the bottom of the pie before adding the apples. This keeps the crust crisp. 

Now that your apples are in the shell. Sprinkle with a little more sugar and dot with butter. This means cutting little pieces of butter and putting them over apples, about 1/4 of a cube. 

Role out one more layer of crust and cover the top of the pie. Cut out your skeleton face. Cook your pie at 350 until nice and brown. If the edges get too brown you can add strips of foil, or leave it be like we did for a spookier vibe. 

If you've known Peggy for any amount of time, you've probably at one point or another been blessed enough to have tasted her apple pie. Using vintage apples she grows in the orchard on the farm, apple pies are an abundant staple in the Nelson household every autumn. Some say her pie recipe is legendary and luckily she is more than happy to share it with us. 

 

Ingredients for the pie crust: 

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

2/3 cup shortening + 2 tbs.

8-10 Tbs. Cold water

Ingredients for the pie filling: 

6-7 large apples

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 of the juice of a lemon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs flour

Peel and cut your apples into traditional wedges. Toss the apples with sugar (the amount of sugar depends of the tartness of the apples and how sweet you like your pie). Now toss in your lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour and mix it all together. Set aside. 

In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt. Cut in your shortening. To cut in shortening a pastry blender works the best. If you don't have one a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick. The flour mixture should resemble small peas. Add cold water and stir as little as possible to combine. Too much working of the dough causes a tough crust. Gather dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Cut the dough in half. Roll out dough on a board using a small amount of flour so dough does not stick. Line pie pan with dough leaving enough extra around the edges for a good crusty edge. Peggy's tip is to sprinkle a little sugar onto the bottom of the pie crust before adding the apples. This keeps the crust crisp. Add your apples then top the pie with the remaining dough. Make sure you cut a couple of slits for the stream to escape. 

Happy Pie Making!

In keeping with this week's theme of "throw back" recipes from 5 years ago when this blog first started, we would be remiss if we didn't highlight one of the recipes that Peggy is most famous for. Her apple pies are legendary. Luckily, the Lavender Apple farm supplies her with more apples than she knows what to do with. So if you are really sweet to her when you see her at the farmers market, you may just be able to convince her to sell you a jar of her apple pie filling. Or, you could just try to make your own by following the recipe below. Either way you will be happier than a fat kid eating cake, or I guess in this case, pie. 

Peggy learned how to make pie from the best pie maker, her mother. Every year on the farm she would bottle 50 or so quarts of apple pie filling. So If you aren't lucky enough to have some of her pie filling, then go out and buy some apples. Before making the filing Peggy likes to make the crust first and set it aside (recipe below). 

THE PIE FILING:

6-7 large apples

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 of the juice of a lemon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs flour

Peel and cut apples into wedges. About 6-7 large apple. Toss the apples with sugar (depends of the tartness of the apples and how sweet you like things. I would say 1/2 -3/4 cups sugar). Now toss in a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and about 2 Tbs. flour. A little trick I do is sprinkle a little sugar onto the bottom of the pie before adding the apples. This keeps the crust crisp. 

Now that your apples are in the shell. Sprinkle with a little more sugar and dot with butter. This means cutting little pieces of butter and putting them over apples, about 1/4 of a cube. You can either make a crumb topping (recipe below) or use the dough you will have left. (The picture above shows a crumb topping). I add a teaspoon of lavender just to shoot it over the stars. Cook your pie at 350 until nice and brown. If the edges get too brown you can add strips of foil.

PEGGYS PIE CRUST

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

2/3 cup shortening + 2 tbs.

8-10 Tbs. Cold water

In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt. Cut in Shortening. To cut in shortening a pastry blender works the best. If you don't have one a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick. Anyway the flour mixture should resemble smallpeas. Add cold water and barley stir. To much working with the dough causes a tough crust. Gather dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Cut the dough in half. If not using the other half for your dough for the top crust. I always roll it out into a pie pan and freeze. Roll out dough on a boardusing a small amount of flour so dough does not stick. Line pie pan with dough leaving enough extra around the edges for a good crusty edge. If you are putting a top crust on make sure you cut some slits for the stream to escape. Happy pie Making

If your dough doesn't come out perfect, no big deal. Just patch it with extra dough. Once it's cooked no one will care or know.

CRUMB TOPPING

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter

1 tsp. Lavender buds ( opt)

Mix sugar and flour together. Cut in butter. Sprinkle over pie and bake

Bon Apetite!