Mission Apple Pie... Complete!

Now, some of you may know that I have been obsessed with perfecting my apple pie skills for quite sometime now. I've tried and tried and never been happy with the results. After 10 years of many trials and errors, I may have finally come across a recipe that worked! Of course I made some variations to it and made it a bit of my own, (Can we say Rum Apple Pie?). Overall, this was an experience that left me leaping joyously and triumphant in my kitchen! Here's a link to the unaltered recipe below. For my version, read on:

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cinnamon-Crumble-Apple-Pie-108650



INGREDIENTS
Crust

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Filling

• 3 1/4 pounds Winesap apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons dark rum
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Topping

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• Vanilla ice cream

• INSTRUCTIONS
• For crust:
• Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

For filling:

Mix all ingredients in large bowl to coat apples.

For topping:

Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.

Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil of browning too quickly). Reduce over temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.

Let me know if anyone tries this recipe out and if you guys out there feel inspired to take on your own variations. 

Till next time,

Love, Peace & Bacon Grease <3