French Apple Pie

Ingredients

  • Pie Pastry for double crust
  • 2 Tbls butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbls cornstarch
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup dark raisins
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 8 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced Golden Delicious Apples

Directions

  • 1. Gently tuck bottom layer of crust into 9 inch pie pan, allowing overhang to drape over edges. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
  • 2. Melt the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring very often, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add most of the sugar, reserving a tablespoon or two, and continue to cook, still stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes. As the apples cook, mix the remaining sugar with the cornstarch. Stir this mixture into the apples and cook for another minute. The apples should have shrunk by now, but they should still have some of their crunch. Transfer the apples to a large, shallow casserole. Stir in the lemon juice, raisins, and cinnamon. Spread the filling evenly in the casserole and let cool thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
  • 3. Turn the cooled filling into the chilled pie shell and smooth the top. Place the other half of the crust carefully over the apple filling Using the back of a butter knife, trim the pastry flush with the edge of the pan. With the back of a fork, press the tines all along the edge to seal. Poke several steam vents in the top of the pie with the fork.
  • 4. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until nicely browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Rotate the pie 180 degrees halfway through the baking, so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward.
  • 5. When the pie is done, sprinkle granulated sugar on the hot crust, or pour glaze (below) over hot crust. (True French Apple Pie calls for glaze)

Glaze

  • 2 Tbls butter
  • 3 Tbls milk
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • Melt butter in a saucepan. Add milk and blend. Bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and blend powdered sugar. Pour over warm pie crust. Use only the amount of glaze you want. There may be some glaze left over.
  • Cool Pie in fridge for one hour prior to cutting