Grandma's lost recipe for Apple Pie

Ingredients for pie crust: 

2 1/2 cups flour

2 sticks of butter 

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp sugar

6 tsp of cold water 

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar and salt. Cut your softened sticks of butter into chunks, and put into the flour mixture. 

2. Blend with your hands, squeezing the butter and flour together. Keep breaking up the butter until you have all the flour and butter mixed, it will resemble pea sized peices of dough. 

3. At this point, add a tsp of cold water into the mixture, a tsp at a time. Begin to knead the dough in the bowl, adding a tsp as you go, you may not need more than 3, it depends on your quality of butter.

4. Remove from the dish and on a floured surface, knead the dough into one large ball. Cut in half. Place one in the refrigerator until use. 

5. On a floured surface roll out the first dough for the crust. When you get it large enough to cover your pie tray, press down lightly so all the air is removed. Using a fork, make holes all around the dough to help trapped air escape. Place in refrigerator until use. 

Ingredients for filling:

3 green apples (Granny Smith)

3 red apples (Gala or Fuji)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar 

2 tsp lemon juice 

1/4 cup flour or 2 tsp of cornstarch

4 tsp of butter 

1 tsp butter melted 

1 tsp cinnamon 

Pinch of nutmeg 

Instructions: 

1. Peel and cut apples into slices. After each apple is sliced, place into a bowl and squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto the apples to keep from browning. Everytime you add the apples, mix with the previously lemoned apples, and add more as you need. Be careful not to add more than what is needed. Set aside.

2. Mix together your sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour OR cornstarch. Mix together, break up all the peices of brown sugar until uniform. 

3. Pour over the apples and coat evenly. Be sure not to break the apples when turning. Press lightly, and if you feel more comfortable use your hands. 

4. Take your pie crust from the refrigerator and begin to fill with the apple filling. To avoid air bubbles, place as closely as possible to each other. 

5. When all the apples are added, pour any brown sugar drippings into the pie. Add the 4 tsp of butter on top of the apples. Place evenly apart. 

6. Roll out your top crust. Make sure it will overhang by 1 inch. 

7. Place on top, and seal to the bottom crust with the melted 1 tsp of butter. 

8. Press firmly. Roll the excess dough underneath, like a cylendar. 

9. Shape as desired. For this shape, cut insertions at a 45 degree angle. Peel every other one away, and shape into leaves. 

10. My Aunt jackie taught me two tricks. One is to cover the edges of the pie in foil to keep from burning. If needed, remove 10-15 minutes before taking the pie out. Mine cooked just fine inside of the foil the whole time. 

11. The other is to brush the top crust with milk and to sprinkle sugar on top for a nice glow. 

12. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 375. 

A special thanks to my Aunt Jackie, our family's guardian angel and rock of stability. She kept these recipes safe when everyone else truly thought they were lost. Thank you for taking the time to give me these recipes over the phone, and for all you added tips. I love you! 

Grandma's Lost Recipe. Pumpkin bread.

The last time I had my grandma's pumpkin bread was over ten years ago. She would make two or three loaves and bring them over when she would babysit. They would never last long. 

When my grandma started to get sick, her cooking started to reflect it. The pumpkin bread started coming out different, and the very last time I found plastic in it. I told my mom, and she was visibly upset. I asked her if she would make it from now on, and she said no because grandma had never written the recipe down. I ate the rest very carefully, knowing it would be the last time. 

12 years later. 

Last week I was talking to my mom and mentioned I wanted to make pumpkin bread. She said why don't you call aunt Jackie, I think she has grandma's recipe. So I texted my aunt, and low and behold she had it. "How?" was the first thought in my mind. My aunt has had it for so long, she doesn't even remember when she got it from my grandma. But the important thing is that it lives on, and I was able to make it and wrap it just the way she did.

Ingredients: 

16 oz can of unsweetened, 100% pure pumpkin

2 cups sugar

4 eggs slightly beaten

2/3 cup water

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1 cup of raisins 

1 cup vegetable oil 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Stir together your nutmeg, cinnamon, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Stir together sugar and oil. 

4. Stir in eggs, and add the pumpkin.

5. Add nuts and raisins. 

6. Combine your dry mixture into your wet mixture. Blend with a spatula, and add your 2/3 cup of water. 

7. Depending on your bread pan size, pour the mixture into 2 or 3 equal parts. If you are using only one pan at a time, just cover and store in fridge until the first one is done. 

8. Bake the bread 40-50 minutes.

9. When its done, take it out and let it cool for 10 minutes. Turn upside down, and let the bread slide out. 

10. You are going to want to cover it with wax paper first, and then foil. The wax paper will absorbe the oil and keep it moist.