A Pie Story

This Thanksgiving is my mom's holiday to work, so I offered to make some things for her. She said "how about pies?" I made the crust from scratch, which was a lot of work!

Pate Brisee (Piecrust)- Martha Stewart

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

Chill ingredients for half an hour before using. 
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt; pulse to combine. After the dry ingredients are pulsed together, the butter pieces are added all at once. The mixture is pulsed again until it has clumps ranging in size from coarse crumbs to 1/2 inch. This usually requires only a few pulses and takes about 10 seconds; it's very important not to overprocess the dough. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
Ice water is added (with the machine running) until the texture of the dough is crumbly and just holds together; the dough should not be wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
The crumbly dough is transferred to a work surface and divided in half. Each portion is placed on a sheet of plastic wrap; the wrap is gathered around the dough and pulled toward the center to form a ball. The dough is then flattened into a disk and chilled. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Roll dough back to its proper dimension. Start rolling, working from center. If dough loses circular shape, place end of pin near the crooked edge and roll, working that area by pressing with one hand while holding the pin loosely with the other. Keep the work surface floured so the dough doesn't lose its shape, stick, or tear. Every few passes, release the dough by running a long offset spatula underneath, then throw more flour under it. As you go, run your fingers around the edges of the dough to feel if the thickness is even (and if not, to find where you need to roll more).
After the pie dough is rolled out to its proper dimension, it's then rolled back up over the pin and gently draped over the pie plate. The dough is then fitted into it.

I found that placing the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer works better. For me, it was easier to roll out. It also doesn't matter too much if the dough is completely round, mine squared out a bit and it was fine once I trimmed the end. Below is the filling: apples!!

Apple Filling:

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 3 pounds assorted apples (such as Macoun, Granny Smith, Cortland, Jonagold, and Empire) (about 5-7 apples depending on the size)
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of piecrust to a 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 13 inches in diameter. Drape dough over a 9-inch pie pan. Transfer pan to refrigerator, and chill 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the egg yolk and cream; set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; place in chilled bottom crust. Dot with butter.
Roll out the remaining disk of piecrust as in step one. Brush the rim of the bottom crust with the egg wash. Place second piece of dough on top, and trim so 1 inch overhangs. Tuck the dough under, and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Transfer pie to the refrigerator, and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
Remove pie from the refrigerator, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Cut four vents in the top, allowing the steam to escape.
Bake until crust begins to turn light brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 60-75 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

This pie filling became a bit frustrating for me. My mom was in the kitchen prepping for food tomorrow before work and she kept coming over to help me. I have more of a temper than I like to admit and I was like can you please stop! Needless to say, my mom was right about the following suggestions (and I said I was sorry). She put almost two tablespoons of cinnamon and extra sugar in. We also didn't do this whole business of placing the pie in the refrigerator to chill. I just moved quickly to make sure the crust didn't get soggy.  I also didn't sprinkle with sugar, we didn't have sanding sugar and my mom said the sugar we had might burn. I also used whipping cream for the egg wash instead of heavy cream; we didn't have heavy cream. In Martha's Pie and Tart cookbook she has different washes in the back of the book, so any wash would've been fine. I also recommend that cookbook, I think Martha breaks things down and its helpful if you're a novice (like me) at baking pies/tarts.

I am really glad my mom was there to help me today. I made a total of three pies (two apple and one pumpkin) and she definitely made it easier.

I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving!