Guh. I can’t believe August zoomed by so quickly. What the frick, dude? Since school started, I haven’t had the chance to do anything fun or exciting. Lately it’s been nothing but lesson plans and IEPs and behavior management. Boo.

Hey, come to think of it, I don’t think I ever posted about finally getting a teaching job. I do remember talking about my retail job, which for your information, I resigned from, like four months ago. It was a choice between having fun money or keeping my weekends. It was an easy call for me.

Okay, so I am currently teaching moderate to severe autism students in middle school. I initially got hired by the district to take someone else’s position as a Special Day Class teacher in a mild to moderate setting (program for Specific Learning Disability, which was known as Dyslexia back in the day). Then right before the school year ended, I was told that I was going to move to the autism program the following school year. No biggie, I mean, I know autism. Just that I only had five months to work with the eighteen kids on my case load and already I had to move on to a different one. Not to mention having to move everything in my classroom to another classroom. So yeah, it’s a new school year, and it’s been crazy. But I’m hanging in there.

Enough serious talk. I want to talk about my baking addiction. Oh yes. Despite all the craziness, the baking must go on. Although I haven’t been posting, I have been continuously testing recipes, one day at a time. (And believe me, I have tons to share just not enough time and energy to do so!) I believe I have about twelve recipes waiting to be shared since my last entry.

To begin with, here’s the apple pie I baked weeks ago. I used to bake French Apple Pie for friends back in college. For some reason, I opted for the French Apple Pie because pastry crust intimidated me then. I just wasn’t up for the challenge. (And I couldn’t bear the thought of failing!) Hence, crumbly topping it was. Until recently I thought, hey, why not actually try the classic apple pie?

The verdict? Pastry crust is easy-peasy! And this apple pie is a must-try!

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (I just simply used my hands), until the butter and flour are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (if necessary add 1 to 2 teaspoons more water).

2. Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half. Shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Heat oven to 425°F. Flour your work surface and rolling pin, and roll one pastry round enough to fit your pie plate. To transfer the dough to your pie plate, wrap it loosely around the rolling pin. Unroll and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

4. In a large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over filling.

5. Roll the other half of pastry and lay the top crust to cover the filling. Pinch the edges together and flute as desired. Cut slits so steam can escape. Brush the top of the crust with egg wash. To prevent excessive browning, cover the edge with strip of foil.

6. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. If using foil to cover the edges, remove the foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Allow to rest for an hour before serving.

Source: Betty Crocker