Grandmother Grace's
Best Ever Apple Pie
Shared by granddaughter, Patricia Lynne Grace Cummings
My paternal grandmother, Theresa Loretta McSweeney Grace, was a pastry cook in President Theodore Roosevelt's White House, before she was married. She gave this recipe to my mother. Since it is truly the best apple pie you could ever have, I am passing the recipe on to you, along with a few pie baking tips.
This is a two crust pie.
CRUST
2 cups all purpose bleached flour
2/3 cups solid shortening (Due to the content of transfats in shortening, butter, at room temperature, is a better choice)
1/4 cup ice water, added 1 Tablespoon, at a time
1 teaspoon salt
Stir flour and salt together. With pastry blender (hand tool), thoroughly mix in the shortening. Initially, add two tablespoons of ice water, stir with fork, and then add enough ice water so that dough sticks together but is not overly saturated. The amount of water needed will depend on the season and the relative humidity of the house. Add more, or less, as desired.
To roll out, divide dough in half. Place one dough ball, flattened by hand on the top, onto a flat, floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and then proceed to roll out, larger than the pie pan you intend to use. I really enjoy using a marble rolling pin.
When dough is rolled to desired size, fold it in half, for easy placement into the pie plate. I like to use those made of glass for cooking apple pies. They seem to come out better. Set other half of dough aside for top crust.
FILLING
3 cups sliced apples
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
In large saucepan, mix the brown sugar and water. Add lemon juice and apples. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until apples are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove apples into a bowl and put them aside for now. Add flour and granulated sugar to saucepan, stir and cook until well-blended; add butter, vanilla, cinnamon and apples. Cool a bit. Add to bottom crust.
Roll out and add top crust. Either make a few air vents by cutting top crust with a knife (a few small decorative slits will do it), or use a pie bird in the center of the pie.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or at 375 degrees, if using a glass pie plate. Then, reduce heat to 375 degrees, or 350 degrees, respectively, and bake for 25 minutes more.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, or slices of cheddar cheese.
Use and enjoy this recipe. However, please do not reprint it for profit.
