apple pie

i'm not much of a baker. i always preferred savory to sweet (perhaps, again, a result of growing up in a chinese household, where i usually had dessert in the form of a red bean soup--still pretty savory). mark bought a bucketful of apples from the union square greenmarket a week or so ago, but sadly, they were mealy--bless his soul. so i thought i'd make my first apple pie, and guess what? no fires, no burns, just a delicious, flaky, browned crust and the sweet, tart filling of a bounty of softened apples and their caramelized juices. this serves 8, one generous slice each.



ingredients
dough:
2.5 cups flour
4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt (not coarse sea salt, just your regular kind)
14 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing onto pie crust
filling:
juice of 1 lemon
3 lb apples, peeled, seeded, and cut into eighths
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg


yup, i pierced the crust with a fork in the shape of my initials

steps
1. combine dry ingredients for the crust: flour, sugar, and salt. then add diced butter, mixing the ingredients with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse meal. make a well and add the beaten egg, folding it in with your hands until the dough forms into a ball. if the dough is still dry, add in little drops of cold water until it combines.
2. form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. for the filling, toss the apple wedges (peel each apple, then cut each half into fourths) with the juice of one lemon and the sugar in a large bowl. the lemon juice will also keep the apples from turning brown.
4. melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet, then cook the apples with the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar dissolves. cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until the apples are softened and have released most of their juices.
5. strain the apples in a colander and catch the juice. return the juice to the pan over low heat, simmering so that the juice caramelizes and thickens.
6. toss the apples with the reduced juice and spices. set aside to cool for 2 hours or in the fridge overnight, if you are making the pie ahead of time.
7. take the dough out of the fridge, and let rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes, so it can be rolled out. cut the dough in half, then roll each half on a lightly floured board so it is about a foot in diameter. preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
8. line the bottom of a 9-inch pan with one of the rolled-out pieces of dough, leaving about 1/2 an inch to protrude from the sides of the pan. put the apple filling into the pie and mound it slightly in the center. place the second disk of dough over the top, and press the edges together to seal the pie, then flute the sides with the back of a fork. brush the surface of the pie with egg and sprinkle some sugar on top. pierce the top with a fork several times to allow steam to escape while baking.
9. bake the pie until the crust is golden, about 50 minutes. let cool before serving.

cost calculation
2.5 cups flour, $0.30
2 1/4 sticks cold unsalted butter $2.25
2 eggs, $0.34
1 lemon, $0.30
3 lb apples, $3.00
2/3 cup sugar, $0.10
pinch cinnamon and nutmeg, $0.15
total: 6.44 divided by 8 = $0.81