Homemade Apple Pies

Mum called them non-commercialized, homemade apple pies-- after she bit into one.

Look at that! Two baking experiences in one day. Not bad.

Went to Borders today & picked up a great book, Cooking: A Commonsense Guide. Read up on cooking terms, different cuts of meat, and how to bone a chicken. Smart tips on cooking, especially for a novice, like me. This book is a gem I found in the bargain shelves. I kept reading until I decided I wanted to cook again... tonight!

I bought a package of PILLSBURY Refrigerated Pie Crusts from Walmart a couple of weeks back, and I knew I wanted to use it for something, I just didn't know what for. I took the pie crusts out of the box & followed the recipe listed right under the nutrition facts.

HOMEMADE APPLE PIES

Ingredients:
- 1 package PILLSBURY Refrigerated Pie Crusts
- 3 cups of thinly sliced, peeled apples (ripe Fuji Apples were fantastic)
- 1/4 cup SPLENDA Sugar Blend
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp water (or lemon juice, I used water to "lessen" the calories... oh, and because I didn't have a lemon)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (I have no idea why I added this, I suppose you can opt this one out)
- 1/8 tsp salt

The sliced apples went into a large bowl. Right by it, in a smaller bowl, I mixed together the sugar, flour, water, cinnamon, vanilla extract & salt. I threw the mix onto the apples & tossed the apples around, with the "sauce".

Turned the oven on at 425 degrees and laid the pie crust on a sheet of parchment paper. I divided the dough into my desired shapes & came out with three different shapes of apple pie. Take a piece of flattened dough, line it with some apples & sauce, then seal it shut. The photograph shows my attempt to be creative with the dough (or, I simply didn't know how to wrap the apples in dough).

After sitting in the oven for 40 minutes, then 10 minutes of cooling... lovely, edible, warm apple pies.

One great tip I learned from the book I am reading, "Always read the recipe before you start." The golden commonsense rule, they say. It would really suck to find out your dinner centerpiece, for tonight's party, needed to be chilled overnight...