One of the holidays Tyler and I enjoy celebrating most is March 14, also known as Pi Day. We always intend to go all out, yet never do, until now!

To celebrate this year, we made our first pie together. We purchased a pre-made pie dough, but made the rest from scratch. It feels good to have something to share with neighbors and friends. Slices are going quick, so don't miss out!

I can never get enough of my mom’s or grandma’s French Apple Pies, so being able to make it ourselves is a whole new ballgame!

Mom's French Apple Pie, with a pre-made pastry assist from the supermarket.

Momʼs French Apple Pie

Family recipe

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2 to 3 tablespoon water, cold

FILLING

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
A dash of salt
6 cups apples, sliced cored peeled

TOPPING

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

INSTRUCTIONS

In medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour and the salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary). Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap, and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
Heat oven to 400°F. On surface sprinkled with flour, using floured rolling pin, roll pastry dough into circle 2 inches larger than 9-inch pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute as desired.
In large bowl, stir together Filling ingredients: sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt. Mix with apples. Pour into pie plate, mounding apples toward center.
In medium bowl, use pastry blender or fingers to mix Topping ingredients: flour, butter, and brown sugar until a crumb forms. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie.
Bake 50 minutes in the center of the oven. In the last 10 minutes, check the pie and cover the topping with aluminum foil if it browns too quickly. Pie crust and crumb topping should be a deep golden brown with the filling beginning to bubble. Transfer to cooling rack to cool. Best served warm.

* 6 cups is roughly equal to 4 apples, and since this pie is all about the apples, my mom's recommendation is to choose either Honeycrisp, Crispin, or Pink Ladies for your filling.