Hi DisBakers!

You guys know I love pie. I really love most kinds of pie to be honest. It could be key lime, berry, free pie… free pie is always good pie.

Yet, there is nothing like a good slice of Apple Pie, and that’s what we are making today. Good old Apple Pie. It just brings images of grandmas baking on a Sunday afternoon. Well it does if you are from the United States. Otherwise it’s the pie you buy at the grocery store and you have seen in movies.

Since this week we are reviewing the book “Eat Like Walt – The Wonderful World of Disney Food” by Marcy Carriker Smothers, I thought it would be fun to make the apple pie recipe she has in the back of the book. It’s from the Plaza Inn in Disneyland. All those things are awesome separately and even more when put together.

In the book we learn a little about the Plaza Inn like it opened on July 18, 1965 and is still opened today. Did you know Walt Disney “wanted to hang birdcages near the windows in the solariums” but health code prohibited “his feather friends from singing for their supper”? They left the hooks and are now a tribute to Mr. Disney. That’s one of the awesome little details the author shares with us. This book is filled with information any Disney fan would want to know. That’s why you need this book.

I can talk about this book forever but I’d rather you get a copy and discover its treasures for yourself. I know it sounds like I’m being paid to promote this book but I’m not. I just think it’s amazing.

Let’s make some Plaza Inn Apple Pie. It was from “Walt’s favorite restaurant at Disneyland” after all.

Pastry Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 1/2 cup orange juice, chilled

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 pounds baking apples
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter

Pastry Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Mix together well.
2. Cut in the shortening and the butter. You can do this two ways; with a pastry blender or two knives. The book says to do it with a fork but knives are way easier. Just take two butter knives and (at the same time) cut Xs into the mixture. Keep cutting until the butter and shortening are crumbly. The size of chestnuts is a good size.
3. Slowly add the orange juice until the dough comes together. My dough took the entire amount to come together.
4. On a clean and lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times and then separate into two sections. Wrap both in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. You can make the filling during this time.

Filling Instructions:

1. Peel, core and cut your apples into 1/2 inch slices. They don’t have to be perfect.
2. In a large bowl, place the apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix together well. Let the mixture rest for at least 10 minutes. This is when you can eat 100 apples peels that are all over your table. I love eating the apple peels for some reason.
3. Preheat your oven to 425F.
4. On a clean and lightly floured surface, roll out your dough and place it into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. The easiest way to do this is roll out the dough and flip you pan upside down over the dough. If the dough is visible all the way around the dish, you have rolled it out big enough. Flip your pie plate back over. Fold the dough in half but don’t press down on it. Slide the dough over have the pie plate and unfold. Voila, you now have the bottom of your pie. Poke some holes in the bottom of the crust.
5. Add the filling into the pie plate. It’s going to seem like a lot of apples because it is. The first time I made this pie I didn’t put them all in. I was nervous it was too much, but the pie needed the rest of the apples. The second time I got all those little guys in there and it worked out great. Place chilled butter over the apples.
6. Roll out your second pie dough and place over the apples. Make sure to seal all the edges. Prick the top of the pie a few times so the steam has somewhere to escape.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Lower the temperature to 350F and bake for another 40-50 minutes.
9. Allow pie to cool completely before serving.

This pie was super tasty. It ended up being a little watery when we first cut into it, but that was absorbed as we cut the pie. Some people might be confused we didn’t cook the filling before baking the pie. Some recipes do call for that but this one had you bake the pie with them raw. This is actually the way I’m used to making Apple Pie at home.

My family really liked this Apple Pie and we will make it again. Stay tuned for more recipes from the book “Eat Like Walt – The Wonderful World of Disney Food” by Marcy Carriker Smothers.

Check out her book at www.instagram.com/eatlikewalt

Happy baking Disney people! Love you guys like America loves Apple Pie 🙂