Mom's Apple Pie

(Picture shows pie before crumb topping added)

You can make your own crust or buy a ready-made crust like I did here.

Peel and slice 7-8 apples for a deep dish pie or 5-6 for a regular pie. Put apple slices in a bowl with water and 1 Tbl lemon juice so they don't get brown. Put a layer of apples in the pie shell and sprinkle with flour, sugar and a little cinnamon - (you can use brown sugar if you prefer). Dot with butter in a few places. Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg. Add more apples and again sprinkle with flour, sugar and cinnamon- dot with butter. Repeat until the shell is mounded, as the apples cook down.

Crumb Topping

Use equal amounts of sugar and flour (about 1 cup each). Add a touch of cinnamon if desired. Mix with a fork and enough butter or margarine to become crumbly. Sprinkle over pie.

Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes for a regular pie or 1 - 1 1/4 hour for a deep dish, as more apples are used. After it has been cooking for 30 minutes keep a close watch to make sure the topping doesn't brown too much. (You can cover the pie with foil if it starts to get too dark.)

Tips:

• Cortland or Jonathan apples are great for baking, especially in this pie. McIntosh and Granny Smith Apples are other great apples to use. Use Jonathan, Jonagold, Winesap and Pippin apples for a tart pie, and Fuji, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty and Empire apples for a sweeter taste.

• Though Red Delicious apples are a favorite for eating out of hand, their texture makes them ill-suited for apple pie.

I promise you will love this apple pie. The crumb topping makes this pie. I recently made two of these and brought one into work and there was a fight for the last slice. Enjoy!