it's a pie...or something. just trust me...

you know how you see something cool or neat or super yummy & automatically, you must have it? well, i’m totally like that, especially when it comes to the yummy! i had seen where a friend posted a pic of her homemade, from scratch pie earlier yesterday evening on that popular book of faces. it was so pretty & amazing looking…really…& i thought about that dang pie all night (may have even dreamed about it a little) & when i woke up this morning, my mission for the day was to create a sweet nom!

i have various fruit here & there; frozen & non, but apple was on the brain. i had 3 that would have to be eaten in a day or so, for best desired taste. (or get tossed to the girls) 2 golden delicious & a granny smith…perfect. i’ve never made my own pie crust & didn’t want to make a trip to the store today (way too hot)…let the googling begin. yikes! everything i saw called for shortening or crisco (which is one in the same, right?) i don’t exactly keep stuff like that on hand. is that still a common ingredient? i realize that i’m in the south, but i just figured that was an old school thing. heck, what do i know…never attempted this feat, remember? (i’m a bad belle…ha!) anyhoo, i did see one or two recipes that called for butter, & i do have that. flour…yep. sugar…un huh. etc, etc…word. “mix into a ball…place in plastic wrap…refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight” wait, what? no time for all that…i want this deal today.

like with any recipe, i am guilty of deviating. i try to be true to directions on baking because it is so precise, but this shouldn’t be that hard…should it?! could i wing it? i was about to find out.

i measured out (in my stand by pyrex):

1 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt (okay…an extremely generous toss of kosher salt)
1 & ¼ cup of all purpose flour
½ cup butter (cold & patted, or sliced & diced)
2 tbsp cold water

i mixed it all with my bare hands…rawr! just kidding, but really, i did. wasn’t sure how well a hand mixer would do & i can sling flour all over the place all by myself, thank you very much! & the ball thing worked…i made a ball of dough…hooray!

now to bump up that refrigeration time. 30 minutes sounded more than reasonable to me. except i was fresh out of clingy plastic wrap...dang. got it! i slid my ball into a freezer bag, flattened it out to about 5 inches (yes, flattened it. i was starting to question my methods) & sealed it up.

as the dough chilled a bit, i got the filling together. but first, i had to grab one of my pie dishes real quick. um…where are my pie dishes? not particularly feeling the urge to pull out all the freaking glassware & such from the bottom cabinet, i resort to plan b which was…okay, so maybe i hadn’t thought that part out yet…YET!

i peel all of my apples & sliced them thinly, put some sugar in a separate bowl, & grabbed the cinnamon from the pantry. oh, & don’t grab the paprika by accident! (whew, that was a close one.) in preparation for my ball/5 inch flat of dough, i floured my countertop. i decided to use my baking stone as a platform for my “pie.”  i flattened the dough out even more, & then carefully transfer it to the stone. placing the slices clockwise working outside in, i sprinkle mixture of sugar & cinnamon on top. finishing touch…folding the extra margin over to make a more uniform appearance. bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. (i had a thing for 30 minutes today for some reason)

voila! yummy, pseudo apple pie for the bumbling baker. & it may not be the most beautiful thing in the world, but hey, i didn’t have to make that trip to the store & enjoyed another adventure in the kitchen. & the next time, i know to add a bit more butter (perhaps drizzled on top prior to sugar & cinnamon...just a thought!)