Lattice Topped Gala & Granny Smith Apple Pie

Good morning and Happy Monday! I was a crafting maniac this weekend getting some crafts done for Creating Christmas week. Pretty sure my entire apartment has a light dusting of glitter on every surface.  My husband calls it a mess. I like to call it festive.

Moving on...I had some pies to make last week/this weekend. Brandon had a Thanksgiving potluck at work and we also volunteered to bring one to church for  a turkey/pie drive they had going on, so I had my work cut out for me. Now, I normally prefer to make my own pie crusts, but with three pies to make  I just wasn't feeling the pie crust making love. {Yes, I said THREE pies- did you really think I was going to make two pies that were going straight out of our home and not make one for us to eat!?}.

So I opted for the pre-made refrigerated pie crusts by Pillsbury. They were pretty awesome! Super easy to work with and tasty too. I think I may have just ruined myself for ever making a homemade crust again. Especially because Brandon said this was my "best pie yet". I'm going to go ahead and say it's because the apple pie filling was soooooo amazing. Which, I have to say, it really was. I paired sweet gala apples with tart, crisp granny smiths and the result was delicious.

I really want a slice now. Unfortunately, as I write this post, the pie is long gone. It's quick disappearance just proves how delicious it is. So delicious that one might be tempted to eat a slice for breakfast. Not like I did that or anything. I mean, who eats pie for breakfast? Definitely not me....(I hope you can picture the guilty look on my face as I type this)

Ok, onto the lattice. I love love love lattice pie crusts. I just think they're so pretty. And they're really not as hard as they look. Wanna learn how to make one? You got it! Keep reading. Don't care about the lattice part and just want to apple pie recipe? Scroll on down.

First, you'll need to prepare your bottom crust and filling according to the recipe. I indicate how to do it for my apple pie, below, but you can translate these lattice instructions to use on any pie that requires a top crust.

So you need to roll out the dough to a 13" round. Refrigerated or homemade is just fine. Next, cut the dough into 18 semi-even strips. Accuracy isn't of extreme importance. I think slight imperfections in size make for a cute pie :)

Now, take every other strip and lay them parallel to one another across your filled pie.

Fold every other strip in half back upon itself.

Take another strip and lay it in the center of the pie perpendicular and just past the folded over strips.

Unfold the strips that you folded back upon themselves.

Now, fold back upon themselves the other strips that you left flat the first time. Take another strip and lay it just beyond the folded edges.

 Unfold the strips just like you did before. Repeat until you have woven 5 strips. Next, repeat on the other side of the pie until you have woven all strips.

Trim lattice strips to about 1/4" overhang and tuck under buttom crust. Crimp or flute edges and bake pie as directed in recipe.

Gala & Granny Smith Apple Pie
{Adapted slightly from Joy of Cooking : makes one 9-inch pie}

Ingredients:
1 pie crust recipe for 9-inch double crust pie, or two refrigerated pie crusts
3 large gala apples, peeled, cored & sliced 1/4" thick
3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored & sliced 1/4" thick
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
extra cinnamon and sugar for top of pie

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one pie crust, or half of dough. Meanwhile, toss apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together in large bowl. Let rest in bowl for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow apples to soften. Pour filling into crust. Dot with butter. Cover pie with upper crust. (For lattice instructions, see above). Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated for oven for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes more. Cover edge of pie crust with aluminum foil if it browns too quickly. Remove from oven and cool completely on rack.

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