Apple Pie
My dad is a huge fan of Costco’s apple pie. (Hey, don’t knock it till you try it.) He mentioned that recently they changed their recipe, because the pies just don’t taste the same anymore. So, I decided I would find a recipe that had all of the characteristics of the pie he likes (not too tart, not too sweet, double crust, and a gooey inside), and make it myself. While this specific recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, I added some Fujis to cut down on the tartness.
I scoured the Internet and came across a recipe with over 1800 reviews and a five-star rating and knew I had to give it a go. And it is now safe to say this is my family’s new favorite apple pie recipe. The difference between this pie and others I’ve made is in the preparation–the filling ingredients are boiled which creates a gooey goodness that I could easily eat by the spoonful. The filling is then poured onto the pie, over the lattice crust, and the gooey goodness seeps in the cracks and covers the apples. Sounds weird, but trust me, it works.
For the crust, I found a simple shortening recipe (I know some of you are butter purists, sorry) that was easy to work with and baked up flaky. As you can see from my pictures, I lack the technical skill and patience it takes to make a proper lattice crust, but it still tastes good, ugly strips and all. Also, those of you paying close attention to the pictures may have noticed I used a cake pan. I am ashamed to admit I do not own a pie dish, but the 8″ cake pan worked out just fine.
Photos of the process here.
Crust Ingredients (I doubled it so I could make a top and bottom crust.)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled (I used butter flavor Crisco)
3 tablespoons ice water
Crust Preparation
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour.
- Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.
- Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
- Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate. Fill with desired filling and bake.
Filling Ingredients
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
Cinnamon (the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I like it in my pies)
Filling Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
- Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
- Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.
Crust recipe from All Recipes. Filling recipe from All Recipes.
Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Last year we spent Thanksgiving in Texas with family, which includes my cousin and his wife whom have been vegan for years. So the challenge was to find a vegan recipe that would not only wow the vegans, but the non-vegans as well.
This recipe definitely did just that, and these goodies have now become a regular addition to our Thanksgiving meal. The muffins are soft, moist, and flavorful and the common reaction is, “These are so good, I never would have guessed they were vegan!”
Happy Thanksgiving!
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can)
1 tablespoon soy yogurt
1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin tins with vegetable shortening or spray on oil.
Sift together dry ingredients (flour through cloves). In a separate bowl, wisk together wet ingredients (pumpkin through molasses). Pour wet into dry and combine. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Print This Recipe
I spent Thanksgiving in Austin, Texas at my cousin Rachel’s house, and had the pleasure of baking in a real kitchen. One with lots of counters, drawers, storage–things I don’t have in my tiny apartment kitchen. I made a delicious apple crumble pie, and this pumpkin cheesecake. The bottom layer is plain cheesecake, the top is pumpkin cheesecake.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you I hate pumpkin. I hate the texture, the smell, and especially the taste. I also hate cheesecake. But I love my family, so I made them a pumpkin cheesecake. And they loved it and gave it rave reviews. Yay!
Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
- Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.
My notes
I made my own crust using the recipe on the box of graham cracker crumbs. It was delicious.
Recipe from All Recipes.
The Yummiest Crumble Apple Pie Ever Ever Ever
Print This Recipe
After last year’s attempt at a lattice crust (not so fun), I decided to try a crumble top this year. And I am so glad I did. This was the best apple pie I’ve ever had! The Granny Smith’s give it a nice tartness, and the crumble top has the perfect amount of sweetness. It’s safe to say I’ll be using this recipe again and again and again.
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Filling
3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Preparation
For crust:
Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.
For filling:
Mix all ingredients in large bowl to coat apples.
For topping:
Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.
Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
Notes: I added a few Fuji apples for a little sweetness. Also, I have one of the most amazing inventions ever, that made preparing the apples the easiest thing ever. If you don’t have one, you must get one.
Recipe from Bon Appétit via Epicurious.