My Homemade Apple Pie

This is "my" apple pie. I say "my" because I con-cockted the the ingredients for the filling. I used a Martha Stewart pie crust recipe, with a few twists of my own, and mmmm it is so, so delicious. (if I may say so myself!) Here is the before baking and after baking picture. :) Yes Genevieve, I made it completely from scratch (except I didn't grow and pick the apples)!

I had a bag of apples I had to use for something so I did some reading up on making pie crust and different techniques as well as the "do's & don't" all morning to find good, logical sounding advice on making the perfect pie crust. Of course I didn't use them all but took some from here and there and I think it turned out to be a really, really, good pie crust.

Some of the Tips I Got:

• Key note it to let your dough chill before you roll it out and put it in your pie dish (I chilled mine for four hours). This allows the glutens to rest which will result in a more tender crust.
• After the dough is in your pie dish, let chill an additional 15 minutes - Apparently, this reduces shrinkage in your dough while baking. (mine didn't shrink so... I think it works)
• Start with a higher temperature of 400 degrees for the first half and then turn down to 350 degrees in the second half.
• Brushing the top crust with egg whites creates a nice shining top with a nice crisp. I sprinkled sugar over top of it as well.
• Chill your pie after it bakes - yes, don't just dive into the warm, delicious pie and let all your juices run free! By letting your pie sit for at least a half hour it allows your juices to thicken up a bit and makes it so they don't go running all over the dish and your plate. It definitely worked for me and I let it sit no longer than half hour.
• ENJOY!