John Bunker's Apple Pie

Ingredients

For the CRUST:

• 1 ½ cup flour
• 1 stick cold butter (¼ lb)
• 4 Tbsp ice cold water

For the FILLING:

• Around 8 good pie apples
• ⅓ cup cane sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves

Instructions

1. 1
   In a large bowl, press the cold butter into the flour using your hands, until the flour is sandy and the butter well incorporated. (You can also use a food processor for this). Add the water and mix until the dough just comes into a ball. Shape into a ball, place it in a sealed plastic bag and let it rest in the fridge for a minimum of one, ideally two hours.
2. 2
   Cut the apples into slices to fill your pie plate. You can either peel the skins or leave them on, as you prefer. (John usually leaves them on because a good pie apple generally doesn’t have a tough skin).
3. 3
   Once your apple slices make a nice rounded mound in your pie plate, you’ll know you have enough. Transfer your sliced apples into a bowl and add 1/3 cup sugar as well as your spices. Mix it well with a spoon so the apples are uniformly coated in sugar & spices.
4. 4
   Remove the dough ball from the fridge and cut it in half. Use a little flour on your counter top and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick and roll out half the dough for the bottom crust.
5. 5
   Lay the crust bottom into your pie pan. Place the apple mixture into the crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Lay the top crust onto the apple slices. Crimp together the edge of the crusts. Prick holes into the crust with a fork. Decorate the crust to taste!
6. 6
   Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 45 minutes. Enjoy!