This pie can be made a month in advance and frozen.  The trick is not to bake it.  Stop the recipe before the chocolate drizzle and orange sauce and freeze, wrapped in plastic wrap and two plastic grocery bags.

This pie comes with its own pastry recipe.  To save time, you can use a pre-made Pillsbury pie crust from the refrigerator section of your grocery store, it just won’t have the orange flavor.

Orange Pastry

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
• 2 – 3 tablespoons cold water

Put all ingredients except water in a food processor with metal blade and pulse until it forms a ball (adding cold water as needed to help it along).  Roll pastry on floured board to 2 inches larger than a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.  Ease pastry into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.  Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate.  Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate, and flute with fingertips.

Pie Filling

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening

Beat sugar, butter, corn syrup, liqueur, salt and eggs until smooth.  Stir in pecans and pour into pastry-lined pie plate.  The pie is now ready to freeze –  wrap the uncooked pie in plastic wrap, cover it in foil, then wrap it in two plastic grocery bags.  Put pie in the freezer until the day before you want to serve it.  Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours before putting in the oven (it needs to be thoroughly defrosted). When ready to bake, cook in a 375 degree oven for 40 – 50 minutes – check on pie to make sure crust is not excessively browning.  Cover edge with a 2 – 3 inch wide strip of aluminum foil if it is turning too brown.  Cool pie for 15 minutes.  Heat chocolate chips and shortening until melted; drizzle over top of pie.  Serve with Orange Sauce.

Orange Sauce

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Mix sugar and cornstarch in 1-quart saucepan.  Stir in orange juice and liqueur.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir 1 minute, then stir in orange peel.

One of the secrets to this pie recipe is to use a lot of apples and pile them as high as they will go. This can be made a month or so in advance by freezing the pie before it is baked.  Keep the unbaked pie in the freezer until the day before you want to serve it.  Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours before putting in the oven (it needs to be thoroughly defrosted).

Print

Grandma Anna's Apple Pie

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Equipment

• 9" Deep Pie Plate

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour sifted
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup shortening chilled
• 4-5 Tbsp ice water
• 12 apples Granny Smith are best, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Crust (or use store bought)

• Put flour, salt and shortening in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Pulse until coarse.  Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until dough forms a ball.          
• Divide dough in 2 equal balls and chill for an hour (can be made the day before).  
• Roll out crusts on a floured surface.

Pie Filling

• Mix together the sugars, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  
•  Place apples in a large bowl and pour mixture over apples.  Stir until apples are well coated.
• Put one crust in the bottom of a greased 9 inch deep pie dish.
• Put about 1/3 of the apples in the dish.
• Dot with 1/3 of the butter.  
• Squeeze lemon juice over apples.
• Repeat twice more.
• Cover the pie with the final crust and press edges together with your fingers.  Flute.
• Make 4 small slits in the top of the pie to release steam.
• Freeze your unbaked pie by covering it with plastic wrap, foil and wrapping in two plastic grocery bags.
• Defrost before baking in a 400 degree oven for 55 minutes.  Be sure to line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil because this is one juicy pie.  

Notes

For a truly professional look, using excess dough cut out leaf shapes with a pastry cutter and place on the top of the pie.

Serve the pie warm with vanilla bean ice cream.