Apple Pie

So this is my apple pie recipe as of yesterday, it changes often and without notice, but we all really enjoyed the current incarnation. I prefer a crumb crust to a double crust, because I love the crunchy texture. I like to cook my apples ahead of time because I think it makes them taste better and less runny in the pie. I add slivered almonds because that is what I had handy but you could add any nut or even oats to the top crumble.

Here is what you need: 

A pie crust any good pie crust either homemade or store-bought

8-10 apples depending on size

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or your own spice blend

1/4 cup of brown sugar for the filling 

1/2 cup of water

1/2 a lemon squeezed for juice

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup of nuts or oats

1/4 cup of brown sugar for the topping

2 Tablespoons of melted butter

Here is what I did: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Peel and slice your apples. I love using my mother's apple corer slicer tool. I don't know why I just do. Dump them in a heavy bottomed skillet, add the spices, sugar, water, and lemon juice, let cook for 10 minutes or so while you roll out your dough and make the pie crumble topping.  

3. Roll out your dough and lay your pie crust in your baking dish. I like a glass pie dish so you can check the bottom of the pie to make sure it is done. 

4. In a bowl mix together the flour, nuts/oats, brown sugar, and melted butter. Mix with your fingers until you have some clumps, some dust, and some rubble. This would be an excellent job if you have a little chef in the kitchen providing they have clean hands and won't eat it all. 

5. Ladle your apples into the pie crust using a slotted spoon, so that you don't bring in extra liquid. You can save that delicious juice for something else, but you don't want it in your pie because it will make your crust soggy. 

6. Put the crumble topping over the apples and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the apples are bubbling and the crumble is toasted gold brown.

7. Let the pie cool and enjoy with coffee and ice cream or whipped cream, and good friends.

As always, lots of love, many blessings, and happy baking.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

A few weekends back we took Freddy apple picking. It started last year with my best friends birthday and thus the tradition continues. It was much fun, we had coffee and apple cider donuts at the barn before we took the hay ride out to the orchard. Then with Freddy in back pack with my sweater around him we picked apples for a while at our CSA Farm "Great Country Farms" and it is great country. But unfortunately, the weeks have passed and I still have too many apples, and needing a way to preserve lots of apples I found a use for 10 pounds of apples and also a way to use the 8 apples we have in the fridge with a Freddy sized bite taken out of them. He is like a little apple vampire, doesn't eat just like to suck out the juice. I digress... here is the recipe for Crock Pot Apple Butter, I adapted it from a number of blogs...

Here is what you need:

10 pounds of apples or so, how ever much fits in your crock pot
2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice
2 large cinnamon sticks (to be fished out later)
1 tablespoon of salt
1/2 a cup of brown sugar (more to taste, taste after the apples are cooked down)

Here is what I did:

1. Peel, core, and quarter the apples.
2. Blitz in a food processor to make a sort of raw apple sauce.
3. Pour into the crock pot, add the rest of the ingredients
4. Cook on low over night, stir occasionally, when you remember and when and if you are awake.
5. Taste and add more salt or sugar to your liking
6. Store in sterilized containers, I used old mason jars and kept them in the fridge and gave them away as gifts.

Enjoy with pork chops, biscuits, scones, and anything else you can think of... ohhhh, apple butter cupcakes... a thought.

As always, much love, many blessings, and happy cooking!

Apple Cinnamon French Toast

So normally we make pancakes for Freddy on Fridays... but it recently occurred to us, us being Dave and I, that Freddy's French Toast Fridays had a certain ring to it! Also, it allows me to indulge in my love alliteration. But I digress... so Apple cinnamon French toast, this is yet another recipe born of things in the fridge. We had stale bread, we always have too many eggs, milk, and a jar of apple pie filling from Trader Joe's... Voila 5 minute breakfast is born. I'll tell you how I made it.

What you need
2 eggs
a splash of whole milk (maybe like 1/3 of a cup)
stale-ish bread (I cut three relatively large slices into strips so Freddy can eat them easily)
a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar (1/2 a teaspoon)
a dash of vanilla (1 teaspoon)
butter, oil, or cooking spray
decorations of your choosing: we used, apple cinnamon pie filling, whipped cream, and cinnamon sugar but any fruit, syrup, or cream will do...


What you do
1. Mix together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon sugar in a bowl.
2. Dip the bread, allow to soak for a little bit, until you are sure that mixture has soaked to the middle
3. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high heat, coat with butter, oil, or spray
4. Cook the french toast on both sides until crispy and lightly golden brown. If your bread is thick, cover the pan with aluminum foil when it is toasting on the first side. The steam will cook the custard mixture on the inside of the thick bread.
5. Let cool, decorate with deliciousness, serve to your little one, and watch your husband steal from your baby... i.e. make more...

Hope you have a happy Friday!

Much love, many blessings, and happy cooking!

Quick Apple Cherry Scones

Scones… a baking precipice I have not yet surmounted. Nonetheless, I persevere, attempting to find the ellusive great classic recipe for scones. This recipe is not it, but it is still pretty darn tooting good, even for one less enchanted with our British cousin to the muffin. Please don’t be intimidated this entire process took less than 30 minutes.

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 sticks or (1.5 cups) of chilly butter, cut in with a food processor or a pastry cutter
1 cup buttermilk (you may need a splash more if the dough is too dry)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 large Granny Smith apple
½ cup of dried cherries (soaked in hot water or the liqueur of your choice)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle

Crank your oven to 375 degrees F.
Peel, core, chop the apples (I zipped it in food processor to make them super tiny).
Soak the dried cherries in warm water or as I did, left over sherry. Remember to drain before adding.

Mix up all of the dry ingredients, it’s done in a second if you do a quick blitz food processor or you can always do it by hand. Then cut in the butter, again easier in the food processor, but sometimes I rather enjoy the nostalgic feeling of using a pastry cutter. Add the buttermilk until just mixed. Fold in the apples and the drained cherries. Then I used an ice cream scooper and muffin tin, but feel free just to drop 2 tablespoons on a greased cookie sheet.

Then brush with heavy cream and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and your home smells of morning deliciousness. Serve warm with butter or apple butter.

Voila delicious, easy, quick scones. It had to be quick I’m working on two proposals this week. But what is a week without baking, even if it is a 78-hour work-week.

Much love and happy baking… and don’t work too hard.