A is for Apple Pie among other things...

A is for Apple, of course.

Apple Pie Dough... making the crust

Yes. A is for Apple pie. Always.

Apparently, A is for Apple Pie birthday cakes...

Pup Pup was the birthday boy, and Jack sang and sang and sang!

Apple Pie Crust

Ingredients for the Apple Pie Crust

2 c all purpose flour, plus more for your work surface

10 TBSP chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 tsp. salt

10 TBSP ice water, or possibly more (I filled a pyrex measuring cup with ice water and scooped out water with my TBSP)

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Let's get started:

1. Sift the flour and salt together through a wire mesh strainer and into a medium-sized bowl. 
2. Using your fingers, mix and mash and smash the chilled butter cubes into the sifted dry ingredients until the mixture is incorporated and is "mealy" in texture. 
3. Add the cold water to the dough until you are able to form the dough into a ball in your hands. 
4. Form the dough into two balls, wrap them in saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to two days, or you can freeze it for one month. That's my kind of pie dough! 
5. Roll out the dough: sprinkle your surface with some flour and work with one dough ball at a time. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. You want the pie dough to be about 2 inches wider than your pie plate. 
6. Place your pie dough into your pie pan... followed by the filling (see below)... and top with another pie crust.
7. Cut vents in your top pie crust before baking, and brush with 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten!

Serves: two 9-inch single crust pies or one nine inch double crust recipe

Apple Pie

Ingredients for the pie filling

5 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 c all purpose flour

1/3 c sugar

1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

3 TBSP butter

Let's get started

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine your apples, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and flour. Set aside.
3. Pour your apple mixture into your bottom pie crust and dot with butter.
4. Cover your pie with the top crust, using your fingers to seal the pie. Trim off extra dough, as needed. 
5. Don't forget to cut steam vents in your pie crust and brush the top crust with egg yolks (see recipe for pie crust). 
6. Bake for 45 minutes, until nicely browned. 
7. Allow your pie to cool about 30 minutes, preferably on a wire rack.

6-8 servings

Adapted slightly from Look and Cook: A Cookbook for Children

Memory Verse for the week: 

Inspired by an alphabet series on Impress Your Kids blog, we are adopting a Scripture memory verse each week to go with our cooking and craft projects. We loved the one that she uses for the letter A, so we are sticking with this Scripture this week. By the end of our baking, we had the verse practically memorized and spent a lot of time discussing its meaning. Not a bad way to spend a morning!

"A gentle answer turns away wrath." -Proverbs 15:1