Apple Crumb Pie

In honor of fall I couldn't wait to make an apple pie or an apple crisp.  During my research process I ran across Paula Deen's recipe that was a lovely combination of both.  I did tweak her recipe a bit after reading the reviews.  Her recipe calls for twice as much applesauce and half of the crunch topping that I used.  With a few minor adjustments, this apple pie/crisp topped with vanilla ice cream is American cuisine at it's BEST!!  


Here's my tweaked version of Paula's recipe:



Dough and Filling:

Dough for a double crust 9-inch pie (homemade, frozen, or refrigerated)
3/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash salt
3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped granny smith green apples
1/2 cup applesauce
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP butter, chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping:

6 TBSP all-purpose flour
2 TBSP sugar
Dash or two of salt
2 TBSP butter, at room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie. For crunch topping, combine flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.  Top with vanilla ice cream.



Paula's Perfect Pie Crust



2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp fine salt
3 TBSP granulated white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
12 TBSP butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn't get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball.

When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.