Ingredients:
Crust -
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup chilled lard, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling -
2/3 cup Thompson seedless raisins
1 cup Finger Lakes Distilling Maplejack Liqueur
9 NYS Cortland apples, peeled, cored & sliced thin
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Place raisins in a shallow, non metallic container and cover with Maplejack liqueur. Cover and let sit for at least 1 day but preferrably 3 days. Uncover occasionally to stir and add more liqueur as needed so that the raisins are always completely immersed. When you are ready to make the pie, drain the raisins, reserving the liqueur.
Crust – Mix flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter and lard, blend with pulse button until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
Mix sugar & cinnamon together in a small bowl. Line bottom of pie dish with one crust, making sure it overhangs the pie dish enough to crimp together with the top crust. Arrange apple slices in the crust making sure to cover the entire bottom without any gaps, then continue until the crust is half full. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar around the entire top of the apples. Sprinkle half of the raisins on top of apples evenly. Repeat for a second layer to the top of the crust. Dot butter around the top of the apples. then top with second crust. Crimp crust edges together & pinch in a wave pattern. Tear off thin strips of aluminum foil and fold over the crimped crust. Place pie on a baking tray and position rack in center of the oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 375 and bake a further 35 – 40 minutes or until apples are soft and crust is golden. Cool for 45 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice cream with remaining maplejack liqueur drizzled over ice cream.
About: “Apple-pie Eyed” apple pie – recipe developed by Finger Lakes resident, Michelle Charles, and used with permission.
