(my Georgia Peach Pie)

“The First Law of Pies: ‘No Pastry, No Pie.” ― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

Growing up, I watched the amazing women in my life (my Mom and both Grandma’s) turn a kitchen into a magic wonderland.  They would take simple ingredients and turn them into beautiful dishes creating a perfect experience for all of the guests that sat at their dining room tables.  As I started into my cooking and foodie journey, I thought I would never be able to match their skills.  Making food from scratch?  Why?  You can buy a baked pie at the store or at least buy premade pie dough right?!?  But my pies never looked as yummy.  So I was off to find the perfect recipe.  Talk about a challenge!  There were many an occasion when working with pie crust dough that I would use words not befitting of a southern lady.  🙂

To save all of you from the same fate, I’m going to share my tried and true (and perfected from the many preparations) recipe for the easiest pie crust EVER!  I’ll even throw in the recipe for my famous apple pie!  It’s like the proverbial gift with purchase that us belles love to find when we’re shopping!  🙂

The Easiest Pie Crust EVER!

(Makes enough dough for a two layer pie)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

6 tablespoons ice water

In a large bowl, mix together flour and the salt.  Add the butter and, using your fingers, blend until the mixture resembles course bread crumbs.  Sprinkle in the ice water and mix, until the dough just holds together (if necessary, mix 1 tablespoon more ice water at a time).  Pinch a bit of dough – it should just hold together.

Turn out the dough.  Gather into a ball.  Pat each half into a disk.  Wrap with wax paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes.  For a two crust pie, roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll the dough onto a rolling pin, then unroll it, centered, over a prepared pie plate.  Press the dough into the bottom of the pie plate and refrigerate while you prepare your favorite filling.  Repeat with top layer for a two layer pie crust.

Georgia blueberry peach pie with fresh blackberries

I have used this pie crust recipe for all kinds of recipes.  Chicken pot pie… Bourbon pecan pie… Caramel pumpkin pie… Apple pie…

Did someone say apple pie???  Probably my most requested pie for functions is my Spiced Apple Pie (recipe courtesy of Penzeys Spices.)

Use recipe for double pie crust as detailed above.

Filling:

• 3 lbs. tart apples (a mixture of Granny Smith and Fuji are my favorites), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
  
• 1/2 Cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 TB. fresh lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground mace
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp.ground allspice

Topping:

• 1 tsp. milk
  
• 1 tsp. white sugar

Position the oven rack in the lowest third of the oven and preheat to 400°. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugars, flour, lemon juice and spices.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface. The larger round will be the bottom crust. Transfer the larger round to a 9-inch pie plate and trim the overhang to 1/2 inch. Brush the edge lightly with water. Transfer the apple mixture to the crust, mounding in the center. Top with the second crust. Trim the overhang to 1 inch, fold the top crust edge under the bottom crust edge and press to seal.

Cut several slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. For the topping, brush the crust with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 375°. Cook until the crust is brown and the juice starts to bubble out, about 1 hour. You may want to cover the edges with foil as they tend to brown very quickly. Transfer pie to a rack and cool.

Prep. time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 70 minutes
Serves: 8

And voilà!  Homemade spiced apple pie… just like Mom (and the Grandma’s used to make).