Oma’s Absolute Perfection Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 350°F.

For the filling:
Put the prepped apples into a large bowl. If apples lack tartness, sprinkle them with about 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour, spices and a dash of salt in a small bowl. Then mix the sugar mixture into the chopped apples. Set aside.

For the pie crust:
Mix 2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium sized bowl. In a measuring cup pour Crisco oil up to just between 2/3 and 3/4 cup (not right up to 3/4). Add enough boiling water to make 1 cup. Mix this into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or a fork just until combined. Do not mix too much. You should see streaks of flour running through the dough. If mixed too much crust will be tough.

Split dough in half and roll out each half between two sheets of waxed paper until big enough to fit a standard-sized pie plate. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and flip the first crust over into the pie plate. Remove the sheet of waxed paper and press the crust down to line the pie plate with pastry.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Fill the bottom crust with the apple mixture. Break the butter up into tiny pieces, and spread pieces out evenly over top of apples. Cover with the top crust and remove the waxed paper. Cut slits in the top crust for steam to escape. Pinch edges of the two crusts together to seal. Brush top with an egg beaten with a bit of water. Sprinkle with some granulated sugar (optional).

Bake at 350°F for 50–60 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If you are using a glass pie plate, you can carefully lift it up to see if the crust is brown on the bottom. If so, it’s done.

Note: This can easily be made vegan friendly by leaving the butter out of the filling. It will still taste good even without the butter added.