Dutch Apple Pie

To make a 9 inch pie crust:

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into pats
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Mix shortening, butter, and flour until it forms crumbs. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms. Form a ball with your hands, and roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Use rolling pin to flatten to appropriate size and place in pie pan. Press down gently and crimp sides.

Filling:

5-7 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine sugar and cinnamon and mix into apples with hands, making sure to coat the apples as much as possible. Place apples into pie pan.

Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pats
1/4 cup oatmeal

Blend brown sugar, flour, butter, and oatmeal until crumbly, and spread over apples to form a topping crust.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 30-35 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Comments: Whew--I messed with this one a lot. I used both brown and white sugar to coat the apples. I also added a dash of nutmeg and a little more cinnamon to the topping to see what would happen---no one commented, so I am assuming that it was either not noticeable, or it was still tasty. It seemed to need more flour to make the topping crumbly. This pie looks pretty with shaped dough cut-outs placed on the topping as well. This is Boy's favorite apple pie so far. I found this in one of my church cookbooks--Mom calls it the "fat grandma" book because that's what is on the cover!