Apple Pie Slices

I actually started this blog post about a year ago.  I have been  looking for a picture of myself   that my mother cut out from the front page of the Joliet Herald News many, many years ago when I was still in high school -- but I have not been successful in finding it. It's a picture of me holding up my first place blue ribbon winning apple pie.  I entered this pie in the 4-H county fair.  I was mortified at the time because I knew the true story behind that pie.  My original plan had been to get apples from our apple orchard to make the filling for the pie. I had been in a pretty serious car accident earlier in the same day that I was supposed to make the pie.  Even though I wasn't hurt too badly it was still a major accomplishment that I was able to make my special "Never-Fail" pie crust completely from scratch, much less go out and climb an apple tree, pick a bunch of apples, peel them, core them and then slice them to put into a filling.  My mother and one of my sisters convinced me to use canned pie filling.  I still remember the brand... Anyway, the pie crust was melt in your mouth, tasty and flaky perfect.  The judges liked the crust and gave it high marks -- but they absolutely loved the pie filling!!!  That was a long time ago and I have since learned that it is the crust that makes the pie -- put the same wonderful filling in a tough, cardboard like crust and the pie is not quite so wonderful.

The recipe for these pie slices do not use my "Never-Fail" pie crust recipe, but there is a secret to making a flavorful pastry crust -- lard.  Before you dismiss this idea, please refer to my blog post about my defense of lard and the health benefits. http://artofcookingfromscratch.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-defense-of-lard.html

I got this recipe for apple pie slices from my mother. These slices are always a big hit and perfect for taking to a pot-luck dinner, because they are made in a  10"X15.5" cookie baking pan and you can get 24 decent sized slices in one recipe.  Although this is not my "Never-Fail" pie crust recipe, the recipe for the pastry crust for these pie slices is a good one -- it is not quite the same as a regular pie crust, because it uses egg yolks and milk.  I have also modified it a bit from when my mother used to make these slices, but I think my modifications make a really good recipe into a GREAT recipe.  The filling is a fairly standard and simple old fashioned apple pie recipe.  You can also make cherry pie slices or peach pie slices or even pumpkin pie slices (only you don't need the top crust & glaze) -- my mother did all of these, except the pumpkin. Pumpkin pie slices was another successful experiment of mine.  Since it is fall and it is apple season, we are going to make apple pie slices today.

Here is the recipe for the Crust (with my modifications):

4 cups organic unbleached flour (I use King Arthur) or use 3 cups unbleached flour and then add

1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour (the combination of both flours should equal about 4 cups)

2 teaspoons salt (I use Kosher sea salt or Himalayan Pink) 

1 1/2  cup shortening (I use 1 cup of my home-rendered lard & 1/2 cup unsalted butter. If you use vegetable shortening (Crisco), you will not get as good of a quality & flavorful crust. Use 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter if you do not have lard.)

3/4+ cup very cold milk

2 eggs, separated

Mix/sift the flour & salt together. Add the shortening and using a fork or pastry blender (I use my food processor using the dough blade). Mix the flour & butter until it takes on a small pebbly texture. Mix the 2 egg yolks and the cold milk together. Set the egg whites aside to use later.  Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour, salt & shortening mixture and mix together.  Do not over mix, but just enough to form a soft dough.  if the dough is still too sticky, add a bit more of unbleached flour, until it forms a soft dough.  Divide the dough into 2 parts and shape into 2 disks - 1 slightly larger. Wrap each disk individually in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill.
Now is a good time to pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.


Apple Filling

8 cups or so peeled, cored & sliced apples (about 5 pounds) - sprinkle and stir in some lemon juice over the sliced apples, so that they don't turn brown.
In a small bowl, mix together:

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour (may use whole wheat pastry flour)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (you may also add 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/4 tsp ground cloves - optional)
1/4 cup Boiled Apple Cider (This is optional - I buy my boiled cider from King Arthur. It adds depth to the apple flavor and also helps to solidify the juice, so the slices do not turn out too runny)
Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and stir into the apples, then stir in the boiled apple cider1/4+ cup butter - set aside

Get the larger one of the dough disks out of the refrigerator. Remove the plastic and set the disk on a floured surface. Take a rolling pin and roll the dough out to be a rectangle that is 3/4 inch larger than the 1/2 sheet sized cookie sheet all the way around. Carefully fold the dough in half and then in quarters, and place it in the center of the cookie sheet.  Unfold it so that it fits exactly in the cookie sheet and goes up the 4 sides too. If you need to trim off some of the dough from the top sides of the pan, now is the time to do that. Pour the sliced apple mixture into the center of the crust and spread out evenly. Finally dot the top with thin slices of the butter.  Get the other dough disk out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface to make a rectangle that fits exactly over top of the apple filling to the edges of the cookie sheet.  It is okay to press the crust coming up the sides to the top crust all of the way around the pan. Make several slashes in the top crust in various sections, so that there are slashes evenly distributed over the top crust..  Then brush the entire top of the crust with the egg whites (slightly beaten) that you set aside earlier.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes -- until nicely browned and the apple filling is bubbling.

While the apple slices are baking, it is a good time to make the vanilla glaze icing.

Vanilla Glaze Icing

Powdered Sugar - about 1 cup

butter, softened - about 3-4 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

milk - about 1+ tablespoon

Mix the powdered sugar and the butter together so that it forms a pasty sort of consistency.  Add the vanilla and milk.  Mix this up so that it is slightly runny, but not too thin -- add more sugar, butter, or milk as needed.

When the apple slices are finished baking, take them out of the oven and set them on a heat protected surface. Let cool just a bit and then spread the vanilla glaze over the entire top of the apple slices. Let sit so the icing sets a bit and then cut into 24 pieces.

The apple slices can be eaten warm -- they taste great with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream!  Or the apple slices can be eaten cold.