It’s apple season out where I live, and that make hubby happy. Because apples are his favorite fruit ever? No, because it means a pie-baking day. And he just hates the fact that my mom’s no-fail pastry recipe makes 7 single-crust or 3.5 double-crust pies.
But you know, if we had all that pie, somebody would have to eat it, right? And we wouldn’t want it to be me. (Well, I kind of would want it to, but that’s another tale.) So I usually make one pie and then a whack-load of apple turnovers, which I stick in the freezer to dole out in hubby’s lunches. One. At. A. Time.
First, the pastry. It really is flaky and easy, so give it a try next time you want some extra calories in the house.
No-Fail Pastry
In your mixing bowl:
5 cups organic white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cut in:
1 pound (2 cups, or 4 sticks) lard or butter
Use a pastry cutter or two forks to gently crumb this all together until the bits of fat are smaller than peas.
In a measuring cup:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vinegar
Water to the one-cup line
Whisk together thoroughly then pour over the crumbs in the mixing bowl. Mix the dough gently and form it into seven balls. Cover the ones you’re not working with yet. Sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out one crust into a large thin circle (ish), adding flour above and below to keep it from sticking.
Tip: I often roll it out on a piece of floured waxed paper if I’m doing full-size pies. Then I lay the pie pan upside down on the crust, slide my hand underneath, and flip the whole thing. Center the crust, and peel off the waxed paper.
But today we’re making turnovers, so find something round to cut circles out of your dough. I use a dessert bowl that’s about 5″ across.
While I’m prepping crusts, Jen is prepping apples. This handy gizmo peels, cores, and slices apples all in one go. It’s really fast if the apples are firm and fairly uniform.
Apple Pie Filling
6 cups apple slices
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup white sugar
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
Mix thoroughly. Place a small amount of apple filling on each crust circle. It takes a bit of practice to get the right amount in. You want it full, of course, but still need to be able to fold and seal it.
Use a fork to seal around the arc then stab a few holes in the top so the steam can escape. Arrange the turnovers on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Watch the first batch carefully and adjust, as every oven is different. They should be golden brown and just oozing.
Once they’ve cooled, pop them in the freezer. When they’ve frozen, you can tuck them into a hard-sided container so they don’t get crushed by frozen turkeys or buckets of ice cream.
Dole out as you wish, and enjoy a taste of autumn for months to come!
YUM! And with those great steps, even I can do it!!!
Yep, you could!