1 egg, beaten for brushing over the top crust before baking
Directions
Double Pie crust (try Betty Crocker’s Pie Crust mix found in the cake mix section of your store. You just add water to make the dough, split dough into halves and roll out to make a top and bottom crust.)
Lay a piece of heavy aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven to catch bubble over juices.
Preheat oven to 425 degree F.
Stir together all or half of the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt, depending on the kind of apples you have.
Sprinkle some of the mixture over the apple slices, toss and flavor with lemon juice. Now taste carefully. Add the rest of the spices and sugar as needed.
Spread the apples over the dough-lined pan, mounding them in the center. Dot the apples all over with bits of butter.
To make a “Lattice Top” crust: After you have rolled out the dough as for a top crust, cut it into strips ½ to ¾ inch wide. You’ll have 12 to 14 strips of varying lengths. Using the shorter strips first, then the longer ones as you get to the center, and shorter ones at the opposite edge, place half the strips of dough over the filling. Now pull every other strip back and place the first short crosspiece strip on. Return the pulled-back strips to their former position, pull back alternate strips, and place on the next crosspiece. Continue weaving strips of dough in this fashion until all are used up and pie is covered. Fold the overhang up over the ends of the strips and press firmly. Decorate or flute the edges.
Brush the beaten egg over the finished crust for a nice brown pie top.
Bake at 450 degree F for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degree F and continue baking for 20-30 minutes more.
When the pie is done, you may see some juices bubbling up around the edges and through the vents. The crust should be brown (if it starts to get too brown during baking, put some pieces of aluminum foil on top loosely around the edges), and a thin, sharp knife inserted through one of the vents will pierce the apples easily. If the apples are still firm, bake a few minutes longer and test again. If in doubt, it’s better to bake a few minutes longer than to risk having undercooked fruit. Remove the pie from the oven and set the pie pan on a rack to cool. Take a picture and enjoy!
