On a whim the kids and I headed to Grandad’s Apples N’ Such in Hendersonville, NC, Sunday morning. Hendersonville is less than an hour from Greenville and such a wonderful, easy day trip. Or even half day trip. A friend suggested Grandad’s after I mentioned how crowded our usual apple picking place gets on the weekends. I can safely say that we will never go anywhere else again! Emery and Bodie loved this giant jumping pillow, the slushees and doughnuts were the perfect treat on a hot day, a local band was playing and the apples were plentiful. 
We came home and immediately set to work baking four apple pies (one for us and three for neighbors). I used The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe and, per usual, she didn’t steer me wrong. The hint of orange and vanilla make this particular apple pie especially good. Recipe below picture. Full disclosure: I did not make my own pie crust. Mama ain’t got time for that. I used Pilsbury pie crust and the pies are still delicious. If just making one pie in the future, I’ll definitely use Ina’s recipe.
Ingredients:
4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Perfect Pie Crust:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don’t stretch the dough; if it’s too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.
- Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.
- Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.
Perfect Pie Crust:
- Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.
As I’ve spent much of my morning cleaning up my kitchen following my baking marathon with Emery, this meme popped into my head.
