For October, I made a low sugar Apple Pie, and I used the buttery flour crust recipe I used for my May, June, July, August, and September pies.

After making so many pie crusts this year, I bought a dough blender and it’s a real game changer! The cold butter and shortening stay cold and blend easier with the flour instead of being warmed up by my hands. Less time blending keeps the dough from getting tough. I still use my hands to make sure the dough is completely blended, but my hands don’t get as messy, so that’s also a win. After being refrigerated, the dough rolls out easily. The crust is flaky and delicious, and this is now my go-to recipe for flour crust.

Another useful item I purchased for pie making is a silicone cover for the pie crust edge. I’ve always used aluminum foil, but that requires combining three sections of foil and wrapping them loosely around the pie crust without burning your fingers. The silicone cover goes on quick and easy and keeps your crust edges from over browning.

Homemade Buttery Flaky Pie Crust – here is the link to Sally's Baking Addiction:

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baking-basics-homemade-buttery-flaky-pie-crust/

Here is the link for the Apple pie recipe I used:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/healthy-apple-pie-2238542

Here is a recipe for making Stabilized whipped cream for your pie top if desired,

https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/how-to-make-stabilized-whipped-cream/

I’d forgotten how time-consuming peeling, coring, and slicing apples can be. No wonder “Mrs. Smith and Marie Callender” made so many of my apple pies in years gone by. I used four Granny Smith apples and four Gala apples for this recipe. I also added an extra tablespoon of lemon juice. Once the apples are ready, its quick work to add in the sugar, brown sugar, and flour. Once the filling is added to the bottom crust, put thin slices of butter on top. This recipe has an open crust top, but I cut out leaf shapes from the leftover pie dough and decorated the top of my pie. Next time I might try a lattice crust.

I really like the lower sugar content of this pie. It’s sweet, but the tartness of the Granny Smith apples isn’t lost. One thing I did miss was cinnamon in the pie filling. It’s one of my favorite spices. Christian had an excellent idea – sprinkle cinnamon on Vanilla ice cream for a tasty apple pie ala mode. Next time I will probably add ten minutes to the final cooking time but check frequently to make sure my top crust doesn’t burn.

Next month I’ll be making Pumpkin pie.

Since I haven’t received any photos or recipes from readers, I’m canceling the drawing for the gift from Pampered Chef. It’s a shame because Pampered Chef has awesome kitchen tools and bakeware for all your baking needs.