Warm Apple Pie

As an added bonus, and because last Monday was Jenn's birthday, we decided to go a little all out and make a dessert too. Mini chocolate cakes were on the top of my list, but the girls had been enjoying a chocolate birthday cake all week, so we opted for something a little lighter. I wish we had thought of cheesecake, because that would've been awesome. Instead, I finally found a use for the bag of apples in my fridge besides taking one to work every day. I cheated and used a frozen pie crust from the store. I've never made my own crust before and to be honest, I didn't really want to take the time to make one. I've never made apple pie filling before either and didn't print out a recipe, so luckily Jenn had a whole book on apple pies. One more note, I happened to have a jar of Apple Pie Spice that Penzey's included as a free gift with one of my orders, so thats what we used in lieu of the nutmeg and cinnamon the recipe called for.

Filling:
8 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples(about 8-10 small apples)
Lemon Juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice or 1/4 tsp nutmeg & 1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl. Butter
2 Tbl. Milk
2 Frozen Pie Crusts- 1 thawed & flattened

Oven at 400F.

1) As you peel, core, and slice the apples, drop them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice. The acidity from the lemon will keep the apples from oxidizing(turning brown).
2) Remove the apples from the water and mix the fruit together with the spices and brown sugar.
3) When completely mixed, transfer the apple filling to the pie shell. Don't overfill the shell, there should just be a little hump above the rim in the center of the pie. You can place a few small pieces of butter on top of the pie for extra flavor.
4) Take some water on your finger and moisten the edge of the crust. Take the flattened pie crust and cover the pie. Carefully seal together the edges of the two crusts.
5) Lightly brush the milk over the top of the pie. This will help it get a beautiful golden brown on top.
6) Place four 2-inch slits evenly spaced in the top crust of the pie, for it to vent while baking.
7) Bake directly on the center rack of the oven at 400F for 30 minutes. Then bake for another 30 minutes on a dark baking sheet.

Remove from oven and cool for at least an hour before eating.