Contributor of this recipe: Jimmy Conroy ’14

What’s better on a fall day than a slice – or two – of a homemade apple pie? Not much.

This past weekend, after I was unable to attend a fraternity apple picking event with the lovely ladies of Pi Beta Phi, I was inspired and decided to pick my own apples and transform them into scrumptious apple pie!

Baking has always been a hobby of mine, although it is not the easiest of endeavors. Just the slightest mishap can significantly alter the taste and appearance of a dish. Fortunately, I have made myriad pies in my day and know what flavors work well together. For this pie, I wanted a balance of spice and flavor in every bite.  In my opinion, the mixture of brown and white sugars really brings out the flavor of the apples, and the addition of pecans to the mixture adds a nice twist to a traditional apple pie.

This is a perfect recipe for a group of friends or family on a crisp fall afternoon!

Ingredients:

     8-10 apples

     1/2 cup light brown sugar

     1/2 cup white granulated sugar

     1/4 cup flour

     3/4 tsp. cinnamon

     1/4 tsp. nutmeg

     1 tsp. salt

     juice of 1 lemon

     1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Peel and slice the apples and transfer them to a bowl.  Immediately add the lemon juice to prevent apples from browning.  Next, combine the sugars, flour, and spices in a separate mixing bowl.  Add the dry spices to apples, in addition to the pecans.  Toss well and pour into a piecrust shell.  Cook at 375˚ for one hour.

Pie Crust Ingredients:

     3 cups flour

     1 tsp. salt

     1/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening

     3/4 cup chilled butter

     1/2 cup ice water

Pie Crust Directions:

In a food processor (or in a bowl if you don’t have a food processor), combine all the ingredients and pulse until there are clumps of butter and shortening in the batter.  Next, gradually pour in the ice water and continue to pulse until the dough forms into a ball.  Finally, remove the dough ball from the processor and work into a disc shape, which should be placed in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.  This batch will yield two batches of dough.  One should be used for the bottom crust, and the other can be used as the top for a double crust, or (as I like to do) a lattice-top crust.

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