DELICIOUS APPLE PIE

This pie is one of the most delightful homemade desserts I’ve ever baked. Autumn simply calls for it. The smell fills the house with warmth, comfort, and a hint of nostalgia. It’s easy to prepare and has that old-fashioned charm that modern sweets can’t replace.

I made it using homemade lard, which I got when melting bacon and making cracklings — a small traditional touch that gives the crust its rich flavor. Of course, you can also buy lard at the market; it’s inexpensive and works just as well.

The apples I used were freshly picked in the Resen region a few weeks ago, when my family and I spent the day gathering them. We brought home around ten kilos, and I decided to turn part of that harvest into this golden, fragrant pie. Every bite tastes like autumn.

• 4-5 larger grated apples 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 sachet of vanilla sugar (10 g)

• 2 eggs
• 150 g of sugar
• 1 vanilla sugar (10 g)
• grated lemon zest
• 1 baking powder (10 g)
• 350 g of flour
• 150 g of lard

1. Mix all the dough ingredients with a spoon. Then knead it shortly just to connect all ingredients and form a ball. Place in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
2. In the meantime, prepare the filling: grate apples put them to fry in a pan until they have evaporated the water. No need to add oil. Add sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon and mix.
3. Prepare the baking pan, I used number 26: cover it with thin layer of butter and sprinkle flour.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and split it into two parts. 
5. Spread one part in the pan with your hands and while doing this, place the other dough in the freezer. 
   
6. Apply the filling over the dough, and spread the second part of the dough onto a floured surface, stretch it into a circular shape and cut it into strips. Slowly order stripe by stripe as in the picture.If the stripes are easily torn, reknead dough and add more flour.
   
   
7. Bake in a heated oven at 160 C degrees for about 45 minutes.