Seriously. Blue ribbons. I need to find me a state fair so I can win some.

The Crust

(For butter crust recipe, click here)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. shortening
8-10 tbs cold water

1. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-sized.
2. Sprinkle 1 tbs water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tbs water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Divide in half; form each half into a ball.
3. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle 12 inches in diameter.
4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate.
5. Roll remaining dough ball into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. You can cut slits in it now, if you have particularly good aim and judgment, or you can wait until the top crust in in place (which is what I do.)

The Pie

Ingredients:

6 c. thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/4 lbs or 5-6 good-sized apples)
1 tbs lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbs all -purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
milk
sugar

1. Core, peel, and thinly slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. In a large bowl, stir together 3/4 c. sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.
2. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Place pastry on filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired (basically just make sure the edges don’t come apart during baking; making it pretty is of secondary importance.)
3. Brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. To prevent over-browning, cover edge of pie with foil (Fold a 12-inch square of foil into quarters. Cut a 7-inch circle out of the center. Unfold and loosely mold the foil over the pie’s edge.)
4. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. (Place a pizza pan on the rack under the pie to catch any overflowing juices.) Remove foil. Bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. It can be left at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Which is about how long it lasts at our house, so it works out well.

I had a billion other dessert recipes jumping for the opportunity to be posted about today, so fear not, there WILL BE another dessert swap in the hopefully-not-too-distant future. And in the meantime, I’ll be reading your dessert recipes, right? ‘Cuz you’ll be posting them and then putting them on dear Mr. Linky below, right?

Just make sure to post to your recipe post, NOT your homepage. And, of course, family friendly, yada, yada, yada. (You’d have to try pretty hard to come up with a non-family friendly recipe, methinks.)

Next week on Recipe Swap: Toddlers: What do they eat?! Do you have success feeding your toddler quick, healthy, or cheap (or all of the above) lunches and dinners? Please! Share! Inquiring minds want to know!