Michigan's Best Apple Pie Contest | Snowfest 2008

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Zehnder's Snowfest and the Michigan Apple Committee are proud to host the first annual Michigan Apple Pie Contest, with the winner respresenating the Michigan Apple Committee at the National Pie Championships.

The 2008 Winner is
Fred Burns from Sparta, MI with
"My Father's Apple Pie"
Congratulations!

2nd Place was Amy Jo Bates from Saginaw, MI with Best All American Apple Pie
3rd Place was Carol Socier from Bay City, MI with Tropical Twist Apple Coconut Crumb
4th Place was Linda Tower from Portland, MI with Slice of Apple Pie

Congratulations again to all the winners!

2008 Apple Pie Winning Recipe
"My Fathers Apple Pie"

Crust:
2 C flour
1/2 T Pioneer Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1 C Shortening
1/4 C Cold Water
1/2 tsp. Vinegar
1 large egg

Filling:
5 avg. size Michigan Northern Spy apples, peeled, sliced about 1/4'' thick
1 C Pioneer Sugar
1/3 C Pioneer Golden Light Brown Sugar
Dash of Salt
5 T Butter
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
2 T Tapioca

Directions:
Crust - combine flour, pioneer sugar and salt together in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until coarse. In a seperate bowl, combine cold water, vinegar and egg and whip lightly, then add to flour mixture, stirring lightly with fork until it becomes a sticky dough. Refrigerate finished dough in a small covered container or plastic wrap for 2 hours or overnight.
Filling - combine all ingredients expect butter and apples in a bowl. Peel and slice Michigan apples. Now stir the apples thoroughly into the dry ingredients to coat all the apple slices. Let mixture set for 15 to 30 minutes to develop a "juice" while you roll out the crust below.
Take about 2/3 of refrigerated dough and roll to about 13-inch in diameter. Adjust to fit the deep dish and trim edges. Combine remaining dough and roll to about 11- inch in diameter. Add filling to dish and place 8 slices of butter on top of the filling. Add upper crust, roll edges and cut a few "steam" slits in a design of your choice. You can also add some colored sugar sprinkles to the top crust that adds some color to the pie. Creat your own art piece. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce to 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. I use an aluminum ring over the crust edge to avoid burnt edges. Cool on a wire rack for around 2 hours.