And he is right. Autumn comes with crispness in the air and a rainbow of colors paint the earth and sky. Brilliant golds and reds adorn the trees, and there are more sunshine than clouds. It was one cold windy Sunday when few Moms and Dads and Aunties drove to Carter Mountain Orchards for an apple-picking adventure and picnic. The cold gusty wind did not deter us from our quest of getting the yummiest apples of the season.
After the apples were picked, the picnic followed.
As women, we make sure we let our children experience all the fun and traditions that we want them to remember forever. And we have fun too, in the process.
What happened to the apples when they reached our homes - are beyond me. But this is what happened to ours, my very first apple pie!
Recipe for this pie:
Servings: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts
Prep Time: 50 min
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
12 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn’t get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball.
When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.
***To make the topping with hearts, I had to double this recipe and had a lot of extras to make the decoration an elaborate one.Use heart-shape cookie cutters to make the hearts.The brush with an egg wash (egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk)..
