Growing up we would always go to my grandmother’s house for every holiday. She lived far away so I remember the long drive and being so excited when we arrived. Her hugs were the best and she was always in the kitchen cooking. I remember sitting in the kitchen listening to her tell us that one day we would learn to cook and one day we would receive all her cooking secrets.
The older I got the more I learned about her cooking secrets and was able to help her in the kitchen. In her later years, she shared her wisdom with me on life, recipes, and faith. I will never forget the last Christmas I spent with her she told me, no matter if you measure every ingredient perfectly, it won’t turn out as good as if you make sure to add the best. She was of course referring to the apples she used for her apple pies.
As an adult, I’ve always tried to mimic her apple pies during apple season and especially at Christmas. This year was no different, so in my quest to find the perfect apples, I came upon Lucy’s Apples. These apples are by far the most flavorful apples I have eaten in years. I never got a chance to ask my grandmother where she got her apples from, so I had to find my own that was full of flavor. But after making her pie with Lucy’s Apples it was as if my grandmother was sitting across from me while I was eating my first bite.
I am going to share my grandmother’s recipe with you with some advice; make memories this Christmas. That is far more important than the gifts. I don’t remember what gifts I received but I remember my grandmother’s apple pie! Share a recipe with others and make sure you pick out the most flavorful ingredients like Lucy’s apples!
Filling:
- 3 pounds good cooking apples, such as Lucy’s Apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your pie
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour for thickening
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter
Cook on medium until the apples are soft.
Shell:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (increase to 1 1/2 teaspoons if for a sweet recipe)
- 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water
(Double this to make a top)
Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes before adding pie filling.
