Fruit Sweet And Sugar Free – American Beauty Apple Pie

-CRUST-
1 Basic pie crust -rosebuds and stems
-top and bottom crusts Egg wash for Pies and tarts
Trimmings for leaves,

The day before you plan to bake the pie, peel, core and slice the
applies, 1/8 inch thick. You should have 9 cups of sliced apples.
Toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice, water and sweetener in a
medium sized bowl. Cover th bowl of apples with plastic wrap and
refrigerate overnight. Prepare the bottom and top crusts according to
the directions. On baking day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the spices and flour in a small bowl. Stir 1/3 cup of the
liquid from the apple slices into the flour mixture to make a smooth
mixture. Pour this mixture back over the apples and toss well to
thorough coat them. Pile the apple slices with their juices into an
unbaked pie crust. Cut the butter into four or five pieces and dot
them over the apples. Prepare the egg wash and brush it onto the rim
of crust. Cover the pie with the top crust. Seal the edges by
pressing lightly with the tines of a fork. Use the dull side of a
small knife to trim off any pastry extending beyond the edge of the
pie pan. To prepare the rosebuds, leaves and stems from the pastry
trimmings, roll the pastry trimmings out very thin. Use the point of
a small knife to cut six rectangles measure 2/3 inch by 2 inches for
the usebuds. Cut 12 ovals with pointed ends measuring 1-1/2 inches to
2 inches in length for the leaves. Use some of the remaining trim to
make a thin, 1/8 inch wide rope that measures 12 inches in length.
Cut the rope into six lengths to form six stems. Use the knife point
to press a leaf pattern on each of the ovals. For the rosebuds,
flatten a rectangle between your thumb and forefinger. Start at the
right side of the rectangle and fold the top corner down to form a
loose triangle. The top of the triangle now becomes the center of the
bud, so angle it straight up and wrap the rest of the rectangle
around it loosely, plumping and shaping the bottom to resemble a
rosebud. Brush the top crust with egg wash. Dip each stem, bud and
leaf into the egg wash, drain the excess and attach them decoratively
to the crust. At the Ranch Kitchen we place 1 bud, 2 leaves, and 1
stem on each portion of pie. Make six slits towards the center of the
top crust for steam to escape during baking. Place the pie on a
baking sheet in the prepared oven, place the pie on the lowest shelf
of an electric oven or directly on the floor of a gas oven. Bake for
approximately 1-1/2 hours. After one hour check the apples with a
toothpick through the steam slits. The apples are done when they have
some resistance but still feel tender. For the best appearance on the
plate, let the pie cool thoroughly before serving; however, this pie
is most delicious hot from the oven topped with French vanilla ice
cream.

Yields
8 servings