(Almost) Homemade Classic Apple Pie ~ homemade apple pie filling with a store bought crust

(Almost) Homemade Classic Apple Pie ~ homemade Apple Pie Filling with a store bought crust ~ When J & I bring back apples from the orchard, Roy always likes me to make an apple pie.  When Roy was growing up in England, he & his brothers would pick apples off the apple tree in their backyard & then his Mom would make homemade apple pies.  Roy remembers those pies fondly & wants J to have the same sort of 'picking, making & eating homemade apple pie' childhood memories...

Well, you might remember me mentioning this before ~ the fact that I am a challenged baker...  I can make a few things well, but when I stray too far off the dessert baking path, (like I can do with non-baking cooking, with no problems) well...I run into problems.  Like with baking 'from scratch' pies (i.e., the apple pies Roy likes) ~ I've tried making a pie crust a few times...it was NOT pretty.  Well, maybe it was pretty...awful.  As I remember it, the crusts all turned out tough.  Never one to give up, I knew there was more than one way to bake a pie, so I turned to the fastest way I knew how.  I went to the store, hit the freezer aisle & bought some frozen pie crusts.  Problem solved.  Works for this gal!  What also works for this gal is the two for $1 Apple Pies at McDonald's.  I admit it, I really like them.  (I totally agree with Carrie from SATC on that one)

Now, all that being said, I do make the Apple Pie Filling from scratch, no canned pie filling for me.  Funny, I have no trouble with the fruit filling aspect ~ just the flour part trips me up every time.  My cooking motto: Play to your strengths & downplay your weakness.  :)

Here is the recipe I use for the Apple Pie Filling, it's taken from an America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.  Just skip right past the part on making the crust (it's already thawing out on the counter, right?) & go directly to the 'For the pie' instructions.  You'll be enjoying your (Almost) Homemade Classic Apple Pie in no time!