Apple Pie Contest - Any Advice?

[Joyce]

DH's workplace is having an apple pie contest. I am entering a pie, as I am up to the challenge. Does anyone have any advice or specific recipes to share?

My idea is to use 3 varieties of apples: one tart that holds form when baked, one sweet that holds form when baked, and one that goes to mush when baked. I have a tart apple that holds form when baked, but I'm not sure what varieties to get for the other two. If all else fails, I'll go to our local apple orchard, they should be able to help me.

Does using lard in the pie crust really result in a superior product? I am also going to use pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. I think that will help. :shrug (cross fingers)

[Garnet]

I use both kinds of pie crust, lard and lard/butter. The lard only makes a very flaky crust, whereas the lard/butter makes a flaky crust that has a buttery taste to it.

I love apple pie but I hate it when its overloaded with cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and sugar. I like to taste the apples, not the spices.

[PurpleButterfly]

The worst thing to me is a soggy apple pie...when people don't know to let the apples "sweat" and then drain them before adding them to the pie for baking. :wink I use ready-made pie crusts but no matter what you use, if you want to make the pie look extra special, have extra dough set aside that you can use a paring knife to cut into leaf shapes for decorating the top or edges of the crust. Very simple and easy to do but quite impressive looking. I just cut simple () shapes and then use the tip of the knife to make little "veins" of the leaves on each side from the middle. So pretty!

Have fun, take pics, and keep us updated! :grin :yum :cup

[Garnet]

oooh I forgot about the sweating! Yeah, I put mine in a colander and stack a couple plates on top to get out some moisture. otherwise it soaks into the crust and ruins it. my gran cuts the apples and lays them on a paper towel and turns them to sweat hers. we both agree that when you add the spices and butter it makes up for the lost moisture.

[hbmamma]

My MIL was an apple pie judge for years...her biggest thing was making sure the apples were done - always check before you pull it out. Also, easy on spices, you want to be able to taste apple, not just spices (think: accenting the apple ;) )

Good luck! :tu

[Joyce]

My internet connection has been down for a week.

Thank you so much for the advice! I had NO idea about sweating the apples. Thank you so much!

[PurpleButterfly]

Hope it comes out YUMMY and makes your dh proud! :grin Don't forget to let us know how it goes! :grouphug

[Mother of Sons]

I just learned to make apple pie the other day! My gramma taught me. She didn't tell me anything about sweating apples but she told me she doesn't like it dry, she likes the pie to be juicy so maybe that's why. It was good though and I don't usually care for apple pie!

[Joyce]

It's been hard for me to get on the internet lately. But here's the update. I had rave reviews with my pie crust. I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 lard, and I used the food processor with pulse to mix the crust dough.

Unfortunately, the filling was too sweet, even for my sweet tooth. Too much sugar! In my APPLE CRISP, I use 1 cup sugar to 6 cups apples, and it's fine. So I used the same ratio for apple pie. I thought it would be fine. NOPE! Mental note: use 3/4 or less next time.

Overall, I call it a success because of the crust. There's room for improvment for next year. Also, I would not recommend Cameo apples. I thought they would hold their form and they went mushy.