No Fuss Traditional Home Style Apple Pie

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Applelicious Pie packed with juicy Granny Smith green apples is my hubby's all time favorite. The smell of freshly baked apples with cinnamon is intoxicating..... strangely therapeutic and calming as well.

My mom gave me the recipe when I was young but somehow forgotten after years passed by. Thankfully my dearest baking partner reignite my passion for baking apple pie and we have proven that I have not lost my talent of a quick fix whenever there is a dessert craving!

My recipe is the simpler version if those served in the cafes or sold in the bakery.  Lesser sugar and easier technique that almost fail-proof. So try it!

Ingredients

For the Pastry we need:

2.5 cups all purpose  / plain flour

220 grams frozen butter

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

8 tbsp cold water
1 Egg yolk for glazing

For the Filling we need:
12 small Granny Smith green apples or 8 if you have the larger ones - cored, skinned and sliced
Handful of raisins - black or golden
Handful of Pecans or Walnuts - coarsely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp flour

Method :
Pastry
Mix the flour, sugar and salt well then grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture with a grater (hand grater / box grater /  potato grater). Toss lightly with your fingers until they are all thoroughly combined.

Sprinkle the cold water to the crumbly mixture until you can form a nice dough ball. Divide the dough into 2 parts - one slightly larger then the other. Larger part will be the base of the pie and the smaller part will be used to top the pie.

Wrap them in a plastic wrap; flatten and leave it for min 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. Resting will tenderize the pastry and make it easier to roll.

**This is great for pre-preparation before a party; make the dough and bake the next day!

Remove pastry from the refrigerator and let it to warm slightly. Flour the surface of the worktop, rolling pin, your hand  and the pastry. Roll out the larger pastry in to a disc that is a little larger then the 8-inch pie dish so that it over laps the edges. Place pastry onto the bottom of the dish by folding the pastry in to quarter and  unfolding it into the dish.

Poke some breathing holes on the bottom of the pastry with a fork.

Filling
Preheat the oven 375 degree Fahrenheit or Gas 6

Mix well all the filling  ingredients then place them into the dish with pastry lining. Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut then into 1-inch wide stripes then place them diagonally with 1-inch gap. Repeat the same horizontally to create a criss-cross basket top as pictured.

Beat up the egg yolk a little and brush it on the pie top so that it will be golden and nicely glazed once baked.

Place on the dish onto the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour until the crust is golden.

Rest for 10 minutes before served. You can serve it with vanilla ice-cream if you are into ultimate indulgence!

>> Tips to note : 
Make sure butter is frozen when grating or else you will be ended up with a pile of buttery mess!

Poke some breathing holes on the bottom of the pastry with a fork to let the air out when baking. This is to prevent bubbling of the pastry in the oven.