This recipe for an apple pie and its associated crust is positively outstanding. I have made this pie myself several times and have yet to receive a single negative comment. As a bonus, the crust can be used with any filling, even a canned filling if time precludes preparing a homemade filling. My mother insists that the crust is most important anyway and will even compensate for a bad filling.
Blend flour and shortening with wisp or pastry blender until small pea-like balls form. Blend vinegar into the milk and then, with a fork, add the vinegar-milk mix to the flour and shortening until the dough sticks together. Use about 60% to 70% of the dough for the bottom crust. Roll with a rolling pin. Fill bottom shell and dot with butter. Roll top crust, place on top of the pie, and make three large slits on top of the crust. Brush top crust with milk and bake at 190 degrees Celsius until golden brown.
Notes: Although this is the official metric version of the official recipe as handed down to me by my aunt, I have varied the sugar/aspartame amounts with success. The 120 mL of sugar alone will sweeten the filling sufficiently in my estimation. If using aspartame, do not overcook! Aspartame does not cook well at high temperatures for prolonged periods and can result in a bitter aftertaste. To fit a kilogram and a half of apples into a 23 cm pie crust, slicing the apples thinly and placing them carefully, judiciously, and individually into the pie will be helpful. Otherwise, cavities will develop in the pie. For vegetable shortening, I prefer a stick of butter-flavored Crisco. It makes things rather easy.