“It always turns out the best when I cook it over a fire,” admits Elisabeth Cook of the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association’s heritage-rich apple pot pie she prepares in a cast-iron pot every autumn.
Cook is known for her take on the old-styled Berks County comfort dish that’s wildly popular at the association’s Hay Creek Festival and Apple Festival.
“You really can’t go wrong when you have apples, brown sugar and dough,” she says.
APPLE POT PIE
yield: 4 servings
FIRST, MAKE THE DOUGH AS FOLLOWS MIX
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 tsp. baking soda (omitted for festivals)
- 2 tsp. lard
- ADD
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup cold water
NOTE : Summer Rambo or Smokehouse apples from Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown are recommended. Use brown sugar and butter to your preferred taste.
DIRECTIONS
- 1 Roll dough fairly thin and cut into small squares.
- 2 Put a layer of sliced apples into the bottom of an iron pot. (for a 10- to 12-quart pot, usually about 8 to 10 apples)
- 3 Cover with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and dots of butter.
- 4 Add a layer of the dough (about half).
- 5 Add another layer of apples with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and butter.
- 6 Layer the rest of the dough on top.
- 7 Gently pour 2 cups of cold water into the pot and cover.
- 8 Cook at least 20 minutes or until apples are soft and the pot pie is light and fluffy.
Use brown sugar and butter to your preferred taste.
36TH ANNUAL HAY CREEK FESTIVAL
Sept. 7-9, 10am-5pm | Joanna Furnace | 3 miles north of | Morgantown | For more info visit HayCreek.org
HAY CREEK APPLE FESTIVAL & FLEA MARKET | Oct. 13, 7am-5pm | Rain date Oct. 14. | Joanna Furnace | 3 miles north of Morgantown | For more info visit HayCreek.org
TEXT AND PHOTO BY JENNIFER HETRICK
