New England Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust
Crust Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup cornmeal 5 TBS sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) 1 cup solid vegetable shortening 1/2 cup buttermilk (approx. made from dry mix)Filling Ingredients:
7 cups peeled, sliced apples (mixture of mostly granny smiths and some golden delicious) 2 TBS fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup light brown sugar 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup maple syrup 2 TBS butterDirections:
Position oven rack to lowest third of oven and preheat oven to 375°.
Crust: Whisk together first eight ingredients. Add shortening and cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in enough buttermilk, by tablespoonsful, to form a dough that clumps together. Gather dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap one disk in plastic wrap and set aside. Roll out remaining dough disk between two sheets of waxed paper. Transfer dough to a 9" pie plate which has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Prepare filling: Add lemon juice to sliced apples and toss to coat. Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and flour. Add sugar mixture to apples and toss well. Now place the apple mixture into the pastry lined pie plate and pour the maple syrup over the apples. Dot apples with butter.
Roll out dough for second crust. Cover filling with dough and seal edges with fingers or fork. Lightly brush tip crust with buttermilk. With sharp knife, make several slits in top crust for air vents.
Place pie on baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes, then cover pie with foil and continue to bake until juices bubble thickly and crust brownsabout 35 minutes more. Transfer pie to rack and cool at least one hour. Serve warm or at room temperature a la mode or with cheese.