Best apple pie recipe from Connecticut

This recipe was or favorite between our small Connecticut colection and this is the one featuring in the cookbook part of the school project which was the origin of World Food and Wine.

Best apple pie recipe

This recipe is my own version of the first place winner in the Connecticut Two-crusted Pie final. The original used butter flavored shortening for the crust, instead of butter, and it only called for vegetable oil, instead of sunflower oil.

Ingredients

Procedure

Crust

1. Sift dry ingredients twice and set in a bowl. Cut butter in the middle of dry ingredients. Rub in with your fingers to mix, until it resembles crumbles.
2. Sprinkle oil first then milk, 1 Tbs at a time, mixing well. Stop when a ball of dough forms.
3. Wrap in plastic film or kitchen foil and let it stand in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Divide it and roll out to make a top and a bottom pie crust.

Filling

1. Splash the apples with orange juice -to prevent discoloration- while you peel and chop.
2. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Combine with the apple pieces.

Pie

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (180° C).
2. Line a pie pan with the pastry. Fill with the apple and sugar mixture, packing firmly. Sprinkle butter dots on top.
3. Cover with top crust, seal the edges with a little milk. Make holes for steam to escape. Brush egg white, beaten egg or milk on the top to give it a shiny glaze when cooked.
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour.
   

Cooking Tips

• When making a pie crust, the bottom needs more dough than the top. Approximately 2/3 for the bottom and 1/3 for the top.
• The number of apples depends on the size. Aim for four cups of peeled, sliced apples of each kind.
• you can cover the top of the pie with foil, to prevent excessive browning, after 20-30 minutes baking if needed.
• Using other varieties of apples brings subtle but delicious new flavors. For instance, keep Golden Delicious and use Granny Smith, English cooking apples or Spanish Reinetas instead of Cortland apples.
• Cortland apples are very appreciated for salads as they take longer to brown.