This recipe includes the crust. Apple pie is the only baked good that my dad is in charge of in our family, because his mother, Granny, is the apple pie master.

The Crust:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 sheet of wax paper

Instructions:

1. Place the wax paper on the counter
2.  Strain/sift the flour onto the wax paper, so that it is light and fluffy.
3.  Measure out two cups of the sifted flour into a bowl (you will have some left over that you will not need, as sifted flour is less dense than non-sifted).
4. Add in the salt
5.  Use a pastry cutter (also known as a dough blender, pictured below) to add the shortening to the flour. You should cut it into pea-sized pieces.
6. Stir in the water
7. Split the dough in half (one half for the bottom crust, one for the top)
8. Put flour on your rolling pin, and roll out the crusts. You should start with a nice ball of dough, and roll from the center out towards the edges.
9. With a knife, carve a flower or other design into the top crust.
10. To move the crust from where you rolled it into the pie pan, fold it in half carefully, and place it in the pan, where you can then unfold it.
11. Using scissors, cut off the uneven edges, and you can add this extra dough to places along the edge that need it. Dab a tiny bit of water onto the dough to get the cut-off pieces to stick.

Apple Filling:

Granny’s favorite apple is the Northern Spy, with Empire as a close second. Dad’s favorite is Macintosh. Both of them agree that Red Delicious are NOT good for apple pies.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 apples, “chunked” (cut into pieces instead of sliced)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3-4 pear halves, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp rum

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Put the pears on the bottom crust in the pie pan
3. Sprinkle rum over the pears
4. In a bowl, mix together the apples, sugar, and flour.
5. Pour the apple mix into the pie.
6. Cover with the top piece of dough.
7. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, and then 350 for 50 minutes, or until the apples are tender.