Recipe: Apple Huckleberry Pie with Spiced Crust

Makes one 9-inch pie

Crust:

- 2 cups flour

- 2 teaspoons sugar

- ¼ teaspoon salt

- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs

- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces

- 6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 3 tablespoons flour

- 2 tablespoons cornstarch

- 7 cups 1/8- to ¼ -inch-sliced, peeled and cored apples (about 2 to 2 ½ pounds)

- 1 cup fresh wild huckleberries

- Milk and sugar for topping (optional)

1. To make the crust: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and graham cracker crumbs and mix evenly. Cut in butter until particles are pea-sized. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with a fork just until dough comes together in a ball. Do not over mix dough. (If dough is too soft to handle, press gently into 2 disks and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.) Divide dough into 2 pieces and press gently into disks. Refrigerate for about 10 to 15 minutes while you make the filling.

2. To make the filling: In a large bowl, toss together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, cornstarch, apples and huckleberries. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove dough from the fridge and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out into 2 rounds, each about 12 inches in diameter. Brush excess flour from one crust, then gently roll up crust onto rolling pin. Unroll into pie pan and press into pan. Trim dough overhang to ½ inch.

4. Mound the fruit mixture evenly into pastry-lined pie pan. Brush edges of bottom crust lightly with water and then cover pie with top crust. Trim top crust overhang to 1 inch, then fold overhanging top-crust dough under edge of bottom crust and tuck excess dough under, even with edge of pan. Seal and flute edges with fingertips to make a pretty crimp. Make several slits on the top to allow steam to escape. For a shiny, sugary top, brush top crust lightly with milk then sprinkle with granulated sugar.

5. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for about 50 minutes more, or until crust is nicely browned and apples are cooked through.

©2006 by Kathy Casey Food Studios®