Crab Apple Pie

In a large skillet, mix together the apples, water, lemon juice and brown sugar and bring to a simmer.  Cook and stir for about 10 minutes until the apples have just started to soften – they should have also released a lot of their juice.

Drain the whole mixture through a colander over a large bowl then put the liquid back into the skillet, and the well drained apples into the bowl.

To the skillet add the butter and maple syrup, bring it to a boil and reduce it to about a half cup if you can.  I was doing several things at once (and was using a non-stick skillet), so I left it on low and actually let it simmer for a good half hour.

To the apples, add the flour, cinnamon and salt and mix well – they will appear dry, and I couldn’t quite get all of the flour to absorb.  Preheat the oven to 450.

Roll out your pastry as you would and fit it into the pie plate (deep dish, as usual for me) with a bit extra hanging over the edges.  Fill the prepared crust with the apple mixture then pour the reduced ‘juice’ evenly over top.  Cover with the second sheet of pastry, dampen, trim and flute the edges and cut a couple of air vents into the top.

I baked this at 450 for 10 minutes and then covered the edges with foil, or an ‘edge protector’, and turned the heat down to 350 and baked it for another 30 minutes – remember that the apples are almost cooked, but I like the bottom crust (visible through a Pyrex pie plate) to definitely be golden brown.

Allow the pie to cool for 2 to 3 hours before serving so that it can set and you can serve it in pieces.  We enjoyed this straight up, and are still super excited about it!