Remember that time I went apple picking and then had to throw away an entire pie. So sad.

To remedy the situation I bought my own Lodi tree and thought I would be able to make my own little pie in a couple of years. Well, that little tree went above and beyond and grew 8 lovely apples this summer.

That means 7 for a pie and one for a boy who loves green apples more than anyone I know.

Apple custard pie is one of those foods that sends me back in time. Lodi apples ripen in mid July so it’s usually pretty hot, made even hotter by the hot oven. While we would complain about the heat outside, no one complained about the hot oven. We would be at the dining table (because back in the day it was the only room with a ceiling fan) wishing for a cool breeze and asking for another piece of pie. Thankfully now it can be enjoyed with a little bit of air conditioning.

My Lodi apples performed just as they were supposed to. Tart, not too juicy, they puffed up just as the pie finished baking. I also used some homemade butter in the crust which was so tasty. We even managed to save a piece for breakfast the next morning.

apple custard pie

for the crust

This recipe makes enough for 2 pies, but half can be wrapped in cling wrap and frozen for another day.

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. All ingredients should be cold. Add the butter and process until it resemble a coarse meal (10 seconds)

Add ice water, drop by drop, through the feed tube with the machine running, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky; do NOT over process.

Split dough in half and shape into a disc on a piece of plastic wrap and then wrap it up. Chill dough you will be using today for one hour and freeze the extra disc of dough.

Lightly flour your workspace and roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Place in pan and chill while you get the apples ready.

for the filling

In a bowl mix together:

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

(if you are using a large pie pan use 1 1/2 cup sugar and 4 Tablespoons flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon)

Peel and core 6 Lodi apples and cut into chunks. Place in a single layer on the UNbaked pie crust. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top.

Fill to the bevel of the pie pan with milk. Place in oven (I baked mine on a cookie sheet, just in case it bubbled over)

Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes.