We will eat a last year's pippin of my own graffing ...

Another quote by the Bard—this one from King Henry IV:

Nay, you shall see my orchard, where, in an arbour,
we will eat a last year's pippin of my own graffing . . .

Disregard the fact that this quote is taken completely out of context and focus on its topic: apples. Last week two different friends with their own apple trees gave us big bags of the fruit—many more than we thought we could use. Jim is feeling the stirrings of his annual winter baking frenzy and wanted to bake something with the apples but was perplexed because I've been trying to steer clear of sugar. What a thoughtful husband; he went to the Splenda section of allrecipes.com and found a recipe. With a bit of tweaking, he came up with a sugar-free apple pie that tastes virtually the same as the fully-leaded version. It's not low-carb in the sense that he used regular all-purpose flour, but people watching their sugar intake can enjoy a slice with minimal guilt.

Jim's Sugar-Free Apple Pie

Crust:
2-1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c cake flour
1 T Splenda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c butter
1/2 c ice water

Glaze:
1 egg white
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Filling:
7 cups baking apples, thin-sliced, cored, peeled
1 cup Splenda
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 T butter, cut into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Make the filling: Place sliced apples into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture over apples and toss. Set aside.

2. Make the crust: In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in vegetable shortening and butter until coarse. Add ice water, and mix gently until moist. Form two balls, and roll out one of them to line pie plate. Spoon filling into unbaked crust. Dot with butter. Roll out second ball, and cover pie. Fold edges of top crust under bottom crust, and flute edges. Slit top of pie to vent.

3. Make egg glaze: In a small bowl, beat egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Brush top of pie with mixture, and sprinkle with white and brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°, and bake until filling bubbles, about 45 minutes.