THE PERFECT PIE CRUST By Hand

• Cut your fats into half-inch cubes,freeze your fats for a minimum of 45 minutes, preferably overnight.
  ½ Cup Shortening, ½ Cup Lard
• In a deep, medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and fat using a pastry blender or two knives, work the pieces of fat into the flour mixture, if your fat starts to melt take a break pop it back in the freezer.
  2½ Cups S.M.A.R.T. Blend one-to-one All-purpose flour, 1 tsp Salt
• The key to a flaky pie crust is keeping your ingredients ice cold and having pea-size clumps of fat throughout.
• Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface. Lightly knead your dough using your hands and bring it together in a ball, Cut the dough ball in half, wrap it in plastic wrap and rest it in the fridge
• It's best to make the pie dough the day before so it can rest and chill for at least six hours or better overnight.
• On a well-floured surface take your chilled dough and roll it out to make your top and bottom pie crust

THE PERFECT PIE CRUST By Food Processor

• Start by cutting up your fat into half inch cubes, Freeze your fat until hardened, minimum 45 minutes, ideally overnight especially working with food processor.
  ½ Cup Shortening, ½ Cup Lard
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt pulse a few times to combine. Add the cold cubed fat and pulse for about 30 seconds or until the fat pieces are uniform in size
  2½ Cups S.M.A.R.T. Blend one-to-one All-purpose flour, 2 tsp White Granulated Cane Sugar, 1 tsp Salt
• Mix the 1/3 cup of water and two teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar together and drizzle over top of the dry mixture. Pulse briefly a few times to moisten dry mix and stick the ingredients together. The dough should stay stuck when pressed between two fingers it's OK if the dough is crumbly and messy.
  ⅓ Cup Ice Water, 2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice or white vinagar, 1 - 2 Tbsp Ice Water
• Separate the dough into two balls wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into 4 inch diameter disks and refrigerate for one to two hours

Roll out the dough

• Let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly pliable.
• Make sure to work on a well-floured surface, roll the dough out on your work surface, keep turning the dough every roll, to ensure it doesn't stick to the counter and is even in thickness. Add additional flour to the dough and the counter or your rolling pin as needed, roll out into two, 12 inch circles about 1/8 inch thick.
• Gently roll the dough up and around the rolling pin, then unroll and drape over a nine inch pie plate, gently press into the pie tin, being careful to avoid stretching it to fit, use scissors or knife to trim the excess dough leaving a 1 inch overhang, fold the overhang under itself and crimp or flute, pierce the base of the dough with a fork
• repeat this process to make your second crust
• wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. At this point consult your recipe directions for how to use the dough or follow options below.

Bake dough:

• If making a pie like pumpkin that calls for a pre baked shell, Preheat the oven to 425 for an extra crispy bottom crust place your oven rack on the bottom shelf and if you have one bake on a preheated baking stone.
• Lined the chilled crust with foil, fill the crust completely to the rim with rice or drained beans.
• Place on a rimmed baking pan
• To bake with filling: bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until just beginning to brown and no longer raw.

To bake completely

• Bake for 20 minutes or until solidified. Remove foil and weights continue to bake until browned at the edges with light Browning in the centre about another 7 to 10 minutes.

Peetz S.M.A.R.T. Dutch Apple Crumble Pie INSTRUCTIONS

• Choose your apples.
• You need 5 pounds of apples for this recipe, which is about 11 large apples. I like to use a mix of apples for the best flavour. For this pie, I used Granny Smith, Cortland, Macintosh, and Globo,
  5 pounds apples 5 pounds before peeling and coring

Make the filling:

• Use a microplane grater to zest 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel into a 12-inch high sided skillet. The heat should be off.
  1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• Add the juice from half the lemon to the skillet, about 2 tablespoons. Don't use much more than this, you're not making a lemon apple pie. We just want to wake up the apples a bit and keep them from browning.
  2 Tbsp juice from half a lemon
• Use a potato peeler or this handy apple peeler to peel the apples. Slice the apples into 1/8 inch pieces. I like to peel and slice one apple at a time so that they don't get brown: I peel one apple, then stop and slice it, add it to the pan with the lemon juice, and then move on to peeling the next apple. Stir the apples in the pan occasionally to coat everything with lemon juice.
• Once you have all the apples peeled and sliced in the pan, set it over medium heat on the stove.
• Add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup Peetz S.M.A.R.T. Blend, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional). Stir it together gently so you don't break all the apples.
  1/2 cup brown sugar packed, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup Peetz S.M.A.R.T. Blend one-to-one all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1½ tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cardamom optional
• Once the mixture is all moistened and you don't see patches of flour or cinnamon, set a timer for 20 minutes. Cover the mixture completely with a lid, but don't walk away. Stick around and stir the mixture every 3 minutes or so, replacing the lid each time. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the apples are fork tender but still hold their shape. The apples will not soften more while baking in the oven. So have a taste and see if you want to cook a longer or shorter time. Only you can know your apple al dente perfection level.
• Remove the pan from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.*
  1 tsp vanilla
• Transfer the apple pie filling (including all the the brown caramel gooeyness) to a half sheet pan, or any pan with a lip. Spread the apples all the way to the edges. Cool the apple pie filling completely by placing it in the fridge or the freezer. If you put it in the freezer, it only takes 30 minutes or so. (If you have plenty of time, you can just leave the apples in the pan to cool down; it will take a couple hours.)
• Roll out your pie dough and place in a 9-inch pie dish. Fold the edges underneath and crimp them with your fingers and thumbs. See my pie crust recipe for lots of photos and details.
• Place the pie crust in the fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes, for a really flaky crust.
• While the crust and filling are chilling, place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the center rack of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Let it heat up for at least 20-30 minutes to make sure it's really hot.

Make the sugar crumble:

• In a medium bowl, add the dry ingredients for the crumble: 1 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (use less for table salt). Whisk together.
  1½ Cups Peetz S.M.A.R.T. Blend one-to-one all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar packed, 1/2 tsp kosher salt use a little less if using table salt, 3/4 cup butter melted
• In a small bowl, melt 3/4 cup butter (1 and 1/2 sticks). Pour the butter over the dry ingredients and stir together gently. You should end up with a pretty wet sandy mixture with some large clumps. See photos. Let it chill in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. Try not to eat it all.
• When the apple pie filling in the freezer is completely cooled, and the pie shell is mostly frozen, take them out of the freezer. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the chilled apple pie filling into the pie shell. Don't forget to scrape in every last bit of the gooey filling.
• Use your hands or a fork to break the crumble into smaller bite size pieces. Top the pie with about a cup or two of the sugar crumble, not all of it! You only want to add enough to cover all the apples, we are not piling it on. (That's for later.) Place the remaining crumble back in the fridge to chill.

Bake the pie:

• Place the chilled pie onto the baking sheet in the oven and let bake for 15 minutes at 425 F. The crust on the edge should be turning light brown.
• Meanwhile, get a square of tin foil that is the same size as your pie. Fold it in half, then in half again. Cut out the center. Open it up again. You should have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center. See pie crust post for more details.
• After baking at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Don't take the pie out of the oven. Just change the temperature.
• Bake at 350 for an additional 10 minutes.
• At this point, remove the pie from the oven and quickly shut the oven door.
• Sprinkle the remaining chilled crumble all over the top of the pie. Break up large pieces with your fingers.
• Place the foil on top of the pie crust (the center of the pie should be exposed). Loosely crimp it around the crust on the edge. This will protect the edges from burning.
• Don't forget that your oven temperature should be at 350. Place the pie back on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake at 350 for about 25-35 more minutes. (the pie should be in the oven for a total of about 55-65 minutes)
• You will know the pie is done when the edges of the crust are brown and the crumble is turning a light golden brown in the center. If you want your crust and crumble to brown a little more, remove the foil shield and bake another 10 -15 minutes.
• Let the pie cool on a wire rack for about 4 hours. I know, this is killer. But if you cut into it now, the juices will be lava hot and way too liquid-y. Your crumble will get wet and soggy sad. You have to wait for it to cool to room temperature to get the right texture for the filling AND to not ruin the crumble. Pie! A lesson in patience indeed.
• Once the pie is completely cool, slice and serve! I considers it a crime to serve this without vanilla ice cream, Treat yoself right. Add in some caramel sauce for a really decadent treat!
• Store the pie on the counter for up to 2 days, covered with plastic wrap or foil. After that transfer it to the fridge.

See notes for detailed freezing instructions!

Notes

• *At this point you can add the apple pie filling (once cooled) to a large ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months! Use in pies, cobblers, apple crisp, etc.
• How to freeze Dutch Apple Pie:
• Method 1: Make the crust, filling, and topping and freeze each separately in freezer ziplock bags. Thaw in the fridge, then follow the directions for assembly and baking.
• Method 2: Completely assemble the pie in the pie pan up through adding the first half of the crumble. Wrap the whole pie, pan and all, really well in plastic wrap and then foil (I suggest two layers of each to avoid freezer burn) and the second half of the crumb topping in a small freezer ziplock bag. Store upright in the freezer for 1- 3 months. The longer it’s in the freezer, the more it’s at risk of drying out. When ready to bake, remove pie from freezer and remove foil and plastic wrap. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees with a pizza stone or cookie sheet on the center rack. Follow the baking instructions in the original recipe starting with step 24, but plan on an additional 15-20 minutes of bake time at the end. Watch the second layer of crumb topping the last 10 minutes and cover the entire top of the pie with foil if it’s getting too brown.
• Method 3: To freeze after baking the pie, allow the baked pie to cool completely, like a full 8 hours. Wrap it really well in plastic wrap and then foil (I suggest two layers of each to avoid freezer burn). When ready to bake, remove pie from freezer and remove foil and plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a cookie sheet or pizza stone on the center rack. Once the oven is at temperature, place the frozen pie directly onto the cookie sheet/stone. Bake for about 30 minutes or until warmed through. Because the pie is already baked, you’ll need to watch your crust and crumb topping very carefully to make sure they don’t burn. Add a square of foil over the top of the whole pie if it's browning too much.