• Cooking Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Servings: 1 (just kidding) 8
• Preparation Time: 45 minutes
• Pie crust
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 5 Tbsp. ice cold butter (cut into 1/2 chunks)
• 8 Tbsp. cord lard
• 4-6 Tbsp. ice water
• 1 tsp. allspice (optional)
• Apple Filling
• *Northern Spy apples are my favorite for making pies. They are sweet without being overpowering.
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp.all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 cups apples (peeled, cored and thinly sliced)
• 2 Tbsp. butter, cut in small chunks
• 1/4 c. whipping cream
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 Tbsp. raw or granulated sugar

1. Pie Crust
2. Mixing can be done either by hand or in a food processor
3. Mix flour, salt and sugar until well combined.
4. Cut in butter chunks with short 2-3 second pulses (may also use a pastry blender or fork).
5. Add lard in same manner until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
6. Turn mixture out into a bowl. Sprinkle with 3-4 Tbsp of ice water.
7. Squeeze a handful to see if it sticks together, if not, add remaining water until it does. Divide dough in half, rolling into 2 balls.
8. One should be slightly bigger than the other.
9. Flatten into circles and let rest for 30 minutes
10. Roll out after 30 minutes.
11. Use a fork to poke holes in bottom crust to prevent bubbling.
12. Fill and cover with top crust,pinch closed and seal with egg wash.
14. Pie Filling
15. In large bowl, combine sugars, salt, flour, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.
16. Add apples and toss to coat.
17. Pour into prepared shell, dot with small chunks of butter, and pour whipping cream over filling.
18. Top with second crust.
19. Crimp & seal edges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar (or granulated).
20. Place on foil covered baking sheet (lightly spray foil with non-stick spray.
21. Be careful when putting pan in oven so pie pan doesn’t slide.
22. Cover edges with foil or crust guard.
23. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, then remove foil from edges and bake for 30 more minutes or until crust is golden brown.
24. Cool on wire rack.

In honor of all things Autumn and our obsessive love of food, Vicky Akins once again hits it out of the park with this recipe homemade apple pie.