I love blogs that share recipes. I especially loves blogs that have recipes and pictures of the food. One of my favourites is JustJenn. Her cupcakes make me drool (heh, that sounds dirty.)
I took pictures of the apple pie making process last weekend and S laughed at me the whole time. He knows I have a blog. He's completely uninterested in reading it or any other blog for that matter. He doesn't understand why I love blogs. I don't understand why he doesn't. Anyway, can someone please prove him wrong and tell me how interested you are in the pie making process and how grateful you are that I'm sharing a (semi)secret family recipe? Anyone?
Apple Pie with Crumbly Cheese Topping
I used a mix of 4 different apples: (from left to right) golden delicious, granny smith, braeburn and fuji.
I used 6 golden delicious and 3 each of the other apples. I ended up with way too many apples. Next time I'd probably cut back to about 10 apples total.
I sliced the granny smith into thinner, smaller slices than the rest of the apples. They're crunchier than the other apples so if you make them the same size as the other apple slices you end up with crunchy apples in your pie.
Lemon zest is what makes this pie amazing. It adds an element of freshness to the pie. This is the zest of 2 lemons.
Add 2 cups sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Mix it until the juice from the apples makes the dry bits stick to the apple bits.
Pile it into 2 unbaked pie crusts. Are you wondering why I go to all the trouble of making homemade pie filling but still use store bought pastry? Shortening freaks me out. It's gross and unnatural. Also? I'm lazy. Don't judge me.
For the topping, mix together 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 cup shredded cheese (use the smallest size grater you have.)
Mix it together until it looks like this.
Pile on top of the apples, making sure no apples are exposed.
Bake in a preheated 400degree oven for 40 minutes. I always bake the pies on a baking sheet to catch the juice that inevitably spills over the edge. The top looks a bit burnt in this picture but it tastes best that way.Serve with a scoop of ice cream or, if you're pretending to be on a diet like I am, frozen yogurt.
Ya, "Her cupcakes make me drool," sounds dirty. So does, "Your pie makes me drool."
ReplyDeleteAnyway ...
What type of cheese are you using? I'm thinking sharp cheddar? And it looks like you left the skin on. Any reason for that or just preference? No red delicious either?
I have to go look at cupcakes now.
~Jef
YUM!
ReplyDeleteI've never made an apple pie from scratch. Maybe I'll have to start.
OH MY LORD that looks good. AND like something i can actually make! with confidence! this is totally happening sometime soon...
ReplyDeleteThose pies look delish!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to make a pie, but I may have to remedy that.
That looks so good! I am totally down with using a ready made pie crust but making the filling from scratch.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this, I'm going to have to make it.
I can't say that I love cooked apples, so this blog post is a little lost on me. But ... your back and forth with S sounds like echoes of my conversations with my fiance, Sweets. He loves my blog, but doesn't understand blogging and has zero attention span to read any others. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI have never used a ready made pie crust. I have, however, used a just add water type of pie crust, which is deceptively hard because you still have to roll the damn thing out without tearing it and fit it into the pie dish.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your pies look yummy. (Yes, that also sounds dirty.)
Looks. So. Good.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the pictures. (You're pretty darn good with the camera, Hills!) I think recipe posts need to have pictures, or else they can be a bit dry. The pictures make it exciting. (Now print this out and give it to S.)
Jef: I used old cheddar (is that the same as sharp?) I did peel the apples for the pie, I just did a bad job of it so there are some peely bits in it.
ReplyDeleteOver-Thinker: Thanks! I will definitely show S your comment and be all "See! People appreciate my random blog posts" and he will be all "What are you talking about?" because he will have forgotten about the conversation.
you don't have to use shortening to make your pie crust from scratch...and while people may tell you that it's hard, it's totally not. if you can make these beauties, you can totally make a pie crust. You can just swap out however much shortening the recipe calls for for the same amount of unsalted butter. I swear! try it and let me know what you think...
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