The last Apple Pie recipe you'll ever need

My apple pie

Recently, I've started to think about my menu for Thanksgiving, especially the desserts but mostly pie. I love pie! Who doesn't? I thought about the kind of pie my family likes best? What have I made in the past? Should I make pumpkin, pecan, coconut cream, lemon meringue, cherry or apple? Oh, my! I would like to make them all, but I better settle on making only 1 or 2 pies as we will have fewer guests this year.  

After thinking about what pie to make for Thanksgiving, I started to have a craving to make a pie. So I dug out my recipe book where I keep my favorite pie recipes to find that tried and true apple pie recipe. Nothing says fall to me more than a homemade apple pie. Knowing I didn't have any apples to make a pie, I made a run to the local grocery store to pick some up. 

It got me thinking back to when I made my first apple pie,  I remembered it was in back in high school in a home-economic class called 'Pastry and Desserts'. The assignment one week was 'making an apple pie'. Our teacher, Mrs. Herod, put us into groups of 3-4 students. Each of us were in charge of one of the steps in the pie making process. The step I was assigned to was to make the filling for the pie. 

As an apple pie recipes goes, apples are normally peeled before they are used in pies, ....well, I didn't peel the apples. Oops! Needless to say, our group didn't receive a very good grade for our pie making abilities. We ended up receiving a 'C'.  Since then,  I have made a lot of apple pies, and not once have I forgotten to peel the apples. A lesson well learned. Maybe Mrs. Herod would give me an 'A' now.

Every year in late September, when I lived back in Kansas, my local grocery store would always have a fresh crop of Jonathan apples. Since the season for Jonathan apples is short, and a new crop only comes around in mid-September/October, I would buy several pounds a week to make sure I had plenty of apples to make pies, or apple crisp or apple cake through the fall. I'm starting to get hungry....

I know every baker has their favorite apple pie recipe and their favorite apple to use. I have tried several different recipes, and different apples when making an apple pie from Granny Smith, Jonathan, Macintosh to Yellow Golden Delicious. 

The best apple, in my opinion, has been the Jonathan. It is a crisp, juicy-sweet apple with a slightly tart flavor and it holds up well when cooked, and it is never overly sweet. You can't go wrong with Jonathan apples for pie making.

Just a note, when it comes to making the crust, the best advice I can give for making a pie crust is not to over handle the dough. If your pie filling is delicious but your pie crust isn't.....well, then it's time to change the recipe.  Some like to use butter, shortening or lard. For me, most of the pie crusts I have made have been made with shortening and I have always gotten great results. 

LHJ Apple pie recipe

Here is the apple pie recipe I found in a Ladies Home Journal magazine back in 1989. It has become my favorite apple pie recipe. Through the years, I have used this recipe over and over again. As you can see, it is looking a little rough. I finally ended up putting it into a plastic sheet protector to keep it from completely falling apart. I have thought about rewriting the recipe on a recipe card but I kind of like the way old used recipes look with their stains, tears and all. 

Recipe for the best Apple Pie AND crust ever.




What is your favorite pie to make for Thanksgiving?

Until next time.....happy baking!

Part of our family last Thanksgiving.

"No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing." ~ Julia Child