By: Robin Kurss
When I was little, we used to go to Ahavas Achim Lubavitcher Synagogue on Tacoma Avenue for Simchat Torah celebrations. I can remember being given a paper Israeli flag on a stick topped with an apple. All the kids would proudly parade around the perimeter of the shul to klezmer music. It is one of my most treasured and vivid memories of my childhood holidays. While I may not be parading with my flag this week, I will be baking an apple pie to use up all of those apples that didn’t get dipped in honey last week!
Apple Pie – Serves 8
Pie Crust for a Double Crust Pie:
• 1 ½ sticks cold butter, cubed
• 3 c flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/3 c Crisco or coconut oil
• ½ c ice water
Place flour, salt, and sugar in bowl of processor. Add butter and Crisco and pulse about 10 times until the butter is the size of peas. Add enough ice water as you pulse, just till dough balls up. Divide dough into 2, shape into flattened discs, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Filling:
• 5-6 apples, I mix granny smiths and Cortland
• 3 T lemon juice
• ¼ c white sugar
• ¼ c brown sugar
• ¼ c flour
• 1 Tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut apples into ¾” dice. In a big bowl, toss apples, lemon juice, sugars, flour, and cinnamon.
Roll out 1 of the discs to fit a 9” pie plate and gently place in the plate. Fill with apple mixture. Roll out other disc to fit top of pie and then crimp the bottom and top crusts together. Sprinkle top with extra sugar if you like, place pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips while baking and place on lower third of the oven. Bake for 1 to 11/4 hours until crust is golden.