Farm Fresh Apple Pie for The Three Little Bears

Mama Bear made pies.

Three little pies for three little bears. Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear (that’s me!).

They weren’t anything fancy. But they didn’t need to be with the first of the season’s farm fresh local apples nestled inside the tender, flaky, homemade pastry crust. The honest flavor of the apples, tart and sweet, made them special enough. And the love, that helped too, the love and care Mama Bear spent making and baking them.

This time Goldilocks didn’t selfishly sneak in and eat them all up on us as if she didn’t already have a Mama of her own to bake her special treats. Although I bet when she smelled them baking she was hoping we would all go out or put them on the windowsill to cool where she could sneak up and steal them away to gobble up greedily all by herself.

Nope, this story, my story, ends differently. The three little bears ate them all up for dessert and went to bed happy and full to their little heart’s content, with crumbs and cinnamon spice stuck to their lips, dreaming of pie season and of the many pies yet to come.

Apple Pie
(adapted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook)

pastry for one-crust  pie (recipe follows)
3/4 cup sugar, half brown if desired
2 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice
7-8 cups apples*, thinly sliced or cubed
1 tablespoon butter

1. Roll out pastry and line three 6-inch pie plates or one 8 or 9 inch pie plate.

2. In small bowl combine sugar and next five ingredients. Toss with apples. Divide evenly among 3 small pie plates or add to one large. Dot with butter.

3. Bake about 30 minutes for 6-inch pies or 40-50 for 8 or 9-inch. If sides of crust become too dark cover with aluminum foil. Serve warm or cold.

*Some of the best pie apples: Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Rhode Island Greening, Pippin, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gravenstein

Flaky Pastry for 1-Crust Pie
(8 or 9-inch or 3 (6-inch))

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold butter or shortening
2 – 2 + 1/2 tablespoons ice water

1. Sift flour with salt into medium bowl.

2. With a pastry blender or two knives scissor fashion cut in butter using short strokes until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

3. Sprinkle with ice water 1 tablespoon at a time tossing lightly with fork after each addition until pastry is moist enough to hold together.

4. Shape pastry into a ball, wrap and refrigerate until the filling is ready.

Printable Recipe

Need tips on pie crust? Here’s a King Arthur Demo post on how to make the best pie crust.

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