Crumble Top apple Pie

 Anybody who knows my wife probably knows she doesn't really like sweets all that much.  She doesn't like chocolate much, and hates cheesecakes, but the one thing she absolutely loves the most is Crumble Top apple Pie.  (I refuse to capitalize the word apple since my phone believes it to be a proper noun...my phone is android based)  The only problem with this is that in 3 years of trying, I have never made one to her liking. I have tried and tried, but no matter what I just can't please my wife in the kitchen.  She isn't the food junkie that I am.  She doesn't eat just anything like I will and she is very picky in what she likes and doesn't like.  Most of her meals are centered around chicken in some shape, form, or fashion.  Don't get me wrong, I like chicken, but I also like every other furry little creature that runs, swims, or flies around.  Never ate a slither-er so I don't know about that but I like food.  So back to the pie...I've never made one that meets her fancy so to speak but I have kept trying.  Today I have made another attempt.  I found a website that offered some tips to a better crumble top, mine are always soggy.  So I have slaved away over a hot oven and this is what I came up with.

The crust is simple: 3cups flour, 1 cup lard (and yeah I actually used lard this time,but never again cuz it tastes like a pig)  a tsp of salt, a tbsp of sugar and enough ice water to make it feel right.

I peeled my granny smith's almost perfectly, 2 outta 3 I peeled it in one long strip without it breaking...just a little skill I possess.  Then I sliced them up and threw in my sugar and spice mixture.  I used 1/4 tsp apple pie spice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 Tbs flour, 1 Tbs vinegar.  I let all that sit for a while.  As it sits the apples start to leak, so when it came time to put the apples into the crust I scooped them out, trying not to get the leakage into my crust...remember I was going for perfect crumble top here so I tried to eliminate any stray moisture.

I baked the pie for 40 mins at 400.  Then threw on my crumble top which was 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 1/4 flour, 7-8 Tbsp butter melted. Baked that for another 20 mins and then removed to a cooling rack where it has sat waiting for my wife to give it a try.


******And the vote is in, "it's the closest to perfect you've ever come!"  If I were a woman I might try to analyze that to death and infer that it wasn't good enough, but I will take it like a man and say "hell yeah, I did it!"