I have a young neighbor who lives up the street that asked me 2 years ago if I would teach her how to bake a pie. This was the request I dreamed my own daughter would ask of me for the past 29 years. Unfortunately, my daughter has never really wanted to bake a pie. She actually told me she doesn't even like pie. Go figure. I learned how to bake my first pie, lemon meringue, when I was 12 years old and have been hooked on baking pies ever since. Well, Kristina S. and I did our annual pie baking marathon on Wednesday. We do the baking on Wednesday to enter pies for the Fair which starts on Thursday. I make my pie and Kristina does what I do, I never do anything on her pie, she does it all herself.
This year Kristina chose to learn how to bake a traditional New England Apple pie. You may think apple pie sounds, well, as "easy as pie", but it is not. The first year I submitted one I got an Honorable Mention ribbon. Translation: Recipe sucks, try again. That for me was the beginning of a quest for the perfect apple pie recipe!
It has been a bumpy road over the past 9 years. There were a couple of 2nd place ribbons, some honorable mentions, and a few no ribbon at all years. However in 2009 that all changed. I finally got not only a blue ribbon but also BEST OF SHOW! WooHoo!!!
Kristina of course got Best of Show in the Junior Division the first year she entered...oh yeah, also the second year she entered. But keep in mind that was in the fruit pie division. At 11 and 12 years of age this expert child baker has already perfected Blueberry Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Amazing! This year Kristina began her quest for the perfect apple pie.
We both used the following recipe:
