1st Place Apple Pie

Ingredients for Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup lard

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter

• 4-5 tablespoons cold water

Directions for Crust:

1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Blend in lard and butter with a fork or pastry blender until crumb is pea-sized and smaller.
2. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, blending gently until dough almost cleans side of bowl. Divide dough in half and shape loosely into two balls. Roll out each in a circle on floured surface to fit an 8 ½ or 9 inch pie pan. Line bottom of pan with one crust.

Ingredients for Filling:

• 5-6 cups of tart apples; cored, peeled and thinly sliced

• ¾ cup sugar

• ¼ cup corn starch 

• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

• Dash of ground nutmeg

• 1 Tablespoon butter

Directions for Filling:

1. Mix apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Pour into crust-lined pan.
2. Dot the top of the filling with butter. Top with remaining crust. Seal edges. Pierce top crust with fork at intervals to release steam while baking.

Ingredients for Topping:

• 1 Tablespoon milk

• 1 Tablespoon sugar combined with
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions for Topping

1. Brush top of crust with milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Protect crust edges from over-browning by covering them with strips of foil or purchased crust protector.
2. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, removing edge protector for last 15 minutes of baking.  If top crust starts to over brown, cover loosely with foil.