9″ pie shell, unbaked (1-1/2 cups flour, 1 stick butter, 3-4 T. Chilled shortening, cut in until fine crumbs, gently mix in enough ice water to pull the dough together with your hands, divide into two lumps and roll each out on a well floured board. Makes two crusts plus some extra for “wedding cake”)

Sift together: 2 T flour, (1/8 tsp. salt), 3/4 c. sugar
Add: 1 egg, 1 c. sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Beat to a smooth batter.
Stir in: 2. c diced or sliced (peeled or not) apples
Pour into pie shell
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 350 for 30 minutes
Crumble together 1/3 c. sugar, 1/3 c. flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 c. chilled butter. Sprinkle over the pie, and bake for another 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Aunt Ellen was my mom’s older sister. We spent many happy wheat harvests on her farm near Spivey, Kansas. Aunt Ellen could never understand people who took their showers in the morning. In her mind, that meant they went to bed dirty, and farm dirt isn’t something you want to sleep in. Ellen kept chickens and milk cows, and made her own butter. She was always a no-nonsense kind of gal, so it’s probably a good thing that she married my uncle Rex, one of the goofiest guys on the planet. Rex reminded me a lot of the actor Ray Bolger – remember the scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz”? Rex and Ellen have both gone on to their eternal home with Jesus, and I cherish their memory, as I cherish this pie recipe. I hope you enjoy it.