Saturday afternoon when we went to the grocery store, niece number one (Emily) asked if I’d make apple pie for her.  Her mother was surprised and asked whether she would actually eat it, since Emily has never shown any interest in apple pie.  It seems that as they are learning the alphabet, Emily’s class has identified apple pie as one of the “A” words.

“Sure,” I replied, “I’ll make apple pie if you’ll help me.”

Sunday afternoon I called in my sous chef and got her started peeling the apples which for a four year-old lefty put her coordination to the test. 

No thumbs were lost and while some of the apples looked unfairly mangled and gouged by the peeler, most of the peel was off.  I sliced the apples and then Emily helped mix in the cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg and sugar.

Right: Sous chef Emily with the finished pie, ready to be put into the oven.  Notice the “tattoos” on her arm, a signifier of a kitchen tough gal.

Then we rolled out the pie dough, which I had made earlier in the day and had refrigerated.  Emily’s technique was more “mush” rather than “roll” and the pieces of pasty dough needed some reconstructive surgery when laid into to the pie dish.  Before placing the top layer of dough over the filling, Emily grabbed an apple slice and ate it, pronouncing it tasty.

As the pie baked, Emily peered in the oven window, eager for it to finish.  The pie came out a lovely color and when it was cool enough to do so, we posed for some pictures.  After dinner was finished and it was time to cut and serve the pie, Emily decided that she didn’t want to have any pie because she doesn’t like apple pie.  No amount of reasoning would appeal to her: “But these are the same apples that you ate before we baked the pie, and you liked them then!”  No, I don’t like apple pie.

Left: Emily and Chris cut the pie.  Below: Ava poses with the pie, too.

The pie was left for Jennifer, Kevin and me, which was perfectly okay.  Especially since it turned out very nicely with a flaky, tender crust and cooked but not mushy apples.  Below: The finished product.