Apple Pie

Apple Pie

 

Apple Pie

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is a happy talent to know how to play." Baking an apple pie from scratch is a creative form of play. And you can share the fruits of your labor with friends and family. Have fun!

Servings 1 pie

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 T. cornstarch
  • 1 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 recipe Flaky Pie Dough
  • 8 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 2 T. unsalted buter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 T. water
  • 1-2 T. Demerara sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400º.

  2. In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

  3. On a lightly floured Silpat®, roll out the larger pie dough disk into  13" circle. As you are rolling out the dough, check to be sure that there is some flour under the dough so that it doesn't stick to the Silpat®. 

    Place the dough in a Pyrex® pie plate.

  4. Toss the apples with the sugar mixture and lemon mixture. 

    Pour into the dough-lined pie dish.

    Slice the 2 T. butter into bits and place on the apples.

  5. Roll out the remaining pie dough. 

    Place on top of the pie.

    All around the pie, turn under the edges of the pie dough.

    All around the pie, crimp the edges.

  6. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water.

    Lightly brush onto the apple pie.

    Make 3 to 4 slits in the top crust.

    Sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

  7. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. During the last 15 to 20 minutes, cover the edges of the pie crust to prevent burning.

  8. Or . . . 

  9. The pie may be frozen for a couple of months.

    Preheat oven 400º.

    Remove from freezer, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 2 hours. During the last 30 minutes of baking, cover the edges of the pie crust to prevent burning.


Flaky Pie Crust

Flaky Pie Crust

 

Flaky Pie Dough

Delicious pies start with a homemade, flaky pie crust. Blending butter for flavor and crisco for flakiness, this recipe will soon become your favorite. It is perfect for all savory and sweet pies!

Servings 1 double-crust pie dough

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. salt
  • 10 T. unsalted butter, chilled in the refrigerator and cut into small slices
  • 10 T. crisco, chilled in the freezer
  • 3/4-1 cup ice water

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt.

  2. Add the crisco, toss to coat with the flour mixture. Using the tips of your fingers, work the dough until it resembles a coarse corn meal.

  3. Add the butter, toss to coat with flour mixture and flatten the butter between your fingertips. Work the dough lightly so the butter does not melt!

  4. Add about 1/3 of the water. Using a large spatula, gently stir the flour to incorporate the water. Add another 1/3 of the water. Stir to incorporate the water. At his point, it might not be necessary to add the remainder of the water. It depends on the humidity and how damp the flour is. 

    The dough should have some dry spots and wet spots.

  5. Turn out the dough onto a large piece of food-safe plastic, press gently to combine the ingredients. 

  6. Divide dough into 2 balls, with a little more dough one of them(for the bottom layer of pie crust). Flatten each ball into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for a couple of hours or overnight before rolling out for a pie.

Double-Decker Rolls

Double-Decker Rolls

Rise to the occasion with these Double-Decker Rolls! The perfect roll for your Thanksgiving dinner. :- )

Homemade Rolls

Double-Decker Rolls

Your guests will always remember your homemade rolls. Double the special memory with these Double-Decker Rolls!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups warm water (110º)
  • 2 packages dry yeast
  • 4 T. sugar
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup dry milk
  • 1 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1-2 T. vgetable oil
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

Instructions

  1. In a 4-cup pyrex bowl, add the water, yeast, and sugar; stir. Set aside to proof.

  2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, dry milk, baking powder, and salt. 

  3. In the bowl of an electric mixture, combine the yeast mixture, flour mixture and butter. Mix thoroughly. 

    Attach the dough hook, knead 5 minutes, until mixture forms a sticky ball.

  4. Add 1 t. vegetable oil to a bowl, add the dough cover to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

  5. On a lightly floured Silpat®, roll out the dough to 1/2". Cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased pan, allowing 1/2" between rolls. Brush with melted butter. Stack another roll on top. 

    Roll and cut out scraps of dough.

    Cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes.


  6. Bake in preheated 450º oven for 1- to 12 minutes.

    Brush with melted butter.

    Serve at once!

Ridley Pumpkin Cake

Ridley Pumpkin Cake

The Ridley Pumpkin Cake is a family favorite handed down from Mary Flo Ridley’s mother-in-law, Pat. Everyone loved it! Raising her family in Abilene, Texas, Pat baked the Ridley Pumpkin Cake for family reunions, church suppers, potlucks, and every Sunday family dinner. Until one day, the recipe was lost. No where was it to be found. The family searched high and low, but the recipe could not be found. For sure it was gone! Then one day, reaching for a book, it slipped off the shelf, fell open and there was Pat’s hand-written recipe on a tattered old recipe card. Without haste, the Ridley Pumpkin Cake was baked and served to the family. Everyone tasted it to be sure that in fact it was the original Ridley Pumpkin Cake recipe. Indeed it was the original recipe and everyone was joyful!

So without further ado . . . the Ridley Pumpkin Cake recipe!

Ridley Pumpkin Cake

This is Mary Flo's family's favorite cake recipe. It is moist, delicious and easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 can Libby's solid pumpkin
  • 1 1/4 cup Wesson oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 t. cinnamon
  • 2 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 8 oz. Block of Philly Cream Cheese, room temperature
  • 1 stick margarine, room temperature
  • 1 box powdered
  • 1 t. vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º.

  2. Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix well.

    (about 2 minutes)

  3. Pour into a prepared tube pan.

  4. Bake 50 minutes.

  5. Remove from the oven, place on a wire cooling rack, cool overnight.

  6. While the cake is cooling make the icing.

    Add all of the cream cheese and margarine to the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar. Mix until smooth.



  7. Ice the cooled cake.


  8. Enjoy!