Apple Pie

Apples!!!! My favorite time of the year is fall.  Not only are the colors fantastic, all the reds, yellow and oranges, but the local markets are bursting with fresh foods.  Every year I go and pick my own apples...there is something slightly comforting about harvesting the food yourself that makes the baking process feel complete!  It may be time consuming but it is well worth it.  

The recipes I used for both the pastry and the filling were both, well...organically inspired.  I like making my pastry in a food processor and freezing it for at least 24 hours before using.  There is a combination of both butter and shortening used as well as some vinegar.  I will try to dig up the recipe and post it latter when I have time.  Although...as mentioned, I sort of play around with my pie recipes.  The filling is very standard...apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of flour.  I used cortland and macoun apples (which is actually a new combo for me....I have heard some people say that cortlands are not good for baking but have also heard of some who love them.  Of course tart apples are the best, but I had some cortlands that I wanted to use up so I thought I would give it a try.  The macouns were added mostly because I think that at least two different types of apples are needed for a great apple pie.

As I love to bake....a lot....I find that I try to pawn my baked goods off on my friends (hopefully they like them and I am not he annoying friend who always shows up with unwanted baked goods!!!).  For me, I can just not possibly consume all that I bake...hence the pawning.  So this time I made small 6 inch mini pies....perfect for a gift, as sometimes the regular 9 inch pies can be a lot to handle.  I of course needed to find a cute way to package them (as presentation is everything!), so I decided to put them in little boxes I found, with some decorative paper and ribbon.  I thought the boxes looked cute and so did my friends!