Fruit

(Classic) Apple Pie

By in Fall, Fruit, GF Sweets, Pastries, Sweets, Thanksgiving 3 Comments Tags: , , ,

When I hear the word pie the first flavour that comes to mind is apple. It”s just a classic. And, also happens to be James” favourite. This is actually the recipe I used the first time I made apple pie by myself, many moons ago when we were newlyweds. But somewhere along the way, I forgot about the plain ol” apple pie. I got so excited about trying new recipes and different techniques that I forgot all about the original.

Finally I got my butt in gear and decided it was time for something classic and comfortable. So I whipped up this pie a couple of days before James left on a business trip, to make extra sure he would miss me while he was away. ;) It turned out just as wonderful as I remembered it. The filling is perfectly sweetened and lightly spiced, and the crust is buttery and flaky. There”s really no need to look any further for a classic apple pie recipe. Of course I”ll always try my hand at different variations and styles, but when I want a classic, you can bet this is the recipe I”ll be making.

Apple Pie

To make this gluten-free make a double recipe of this gluten-free pie crust instead of the recipe below.

Crust

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup cold butter, cut up

  • 5-7 tablespoons ice-cold water

Filling

Which apples are best in a pie? Check it out here.

  • 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (a mix of apples is extra yummy)

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the crust: In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, 2 knives, or using fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (and butter is approximately the size of peas). Slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing flour mixture lightly with fork  after each addition. Continue this process until the dough is evenly moistened and clings together when pressed into a ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten each into a 1/2 inch thick round. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, while you prepare filling.

For the filling: Place apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl; toss until evenly coated. Set aside.

To assemble: Remove 1 dough round from the fridge. Place on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Roll out dough with a rolling pin, lifting the dough from the parchment and giving it a slight turn after each roll, until you have an even circle that extends approximately 2 inches past an overturned 9-inch pie plate.

Transfer dough to pie plate and press evenly onto bottom and up the side of the pie plate. Trim off excess dough with a sharp knife. Pour in apples and any accumulated juices, spread evenly.

Roll out remaining dough, as directed. Place the dough over the filling and trim it 1/2 inch past the edge of the pie plate. Fold the dough under the bottom crust, pinching together to seal. Flute the edges. Cut slits near centre of the pie, to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400°F for 45-50 minutes, or until crust is browned and filling is bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature (but not hot, or filling will be runny).

*For a golden brown top with a sparkly finish, brush the crust with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, just before baking.

Makes: 8 servings

Adapted from Kraft.

Apple Slab Pie with Crumb Topping

By in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets, Thanksgiving 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Apple Slab Pie with Crumb Topping

Thanksgiving just wouldn”t be the same without pies and tarts. Especially pumpkin pie. But, not everyone”s a huge fan of pumpkin pie so it”s always good to have another option to share. Apple pie is a favourite in our house. If we”ve got an abundance of apples, Apple Pie or Apple Crisp must be made!

This pie is a little different from the norm for several reasons. It”s baked on a sheet pan instead of in a pie plate, it”s got a delicious crumble topping, featuring pecans, and it feeds a crowd without the work of making several pies at once. I think it would be the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table. It”s like an apple pie, tart and crisp all in one. And, it can easily be eaten out of hand, which means less dirty dishes – bonus!

If you”re not feeding a crowd you can always freeze the extras between parchment paper and just take out as many as you need at a time, to thaw. I prefer to heat them up in the microwave or oven for a bit, because nothing beats warm apple pie.

I would venture to say this recipe is even easier to make then a regular apple pie because of the crumb topping and since the effort of one pie makes so many servings. And, it”s just so extremely delicious that I know I”ll be making it often over the coming months.

Apple Slab Pie with Crumb Topping

Pie Crust

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2/3 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

  • 8 – 10 tablespoons cold water

Apple Filling

  • 2/3 cup sugar

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 3 1/2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (or 10 cups sliced)

Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats

  • 1 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

  • 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

To Make Pie Crust: Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Toss in the butter cubes and, using your fingers, quickly break up the clumps, rubbing together with flour, until the butter is in pea sized amounts and mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or cut in with a pastry blender). Sprinkle water over flour mixture 1 tablespoons at a time; gently toss with a fork, until all of the flour mixture is moistened. Gently knead the dough just until a ball forms.

Roll out the dough to approximately a 17×12 inch rectangle, on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Transfer to a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Patch any corners that don”t reach the edges of the pan, with any overhanging dough. Roll edges under and press down onto the rim of the baking sheet. Trim off excess parchment paper. Refrigerate while you make filling.

To Make Filling:  Toss together all ingredient, in a large bowl, until apples are evenly coated. Pour into dough-lined pan, spreading evenly. Refrigerate while you make the crumb topping.

To Make Crumb Topping: Stir together oats, brown sugar, and flour until well combined. Using your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chopped pecans. Sprinkle evenly over apple filling.

To Bake: Bake at 375ºF for 45-60 minutes, until filling is bubbly near the centre and crust is browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

To store: Once completely cool, cover and keep at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 3 days (bring up to room temperature to serve). Freeze for longer storage.

Makes: 20-25 servings

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.

Blueberry Pie

By in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets 7 Comments Tags: , ,

Thanks so much to all of you who offered your condolences over the loss of my grandma through comments, emails and messages. I”m truly thankful for your words of comfort and encouragement.

I wanted to share something special today in honour of my grandma. One of her favourite hobbies was baking pies of all kinds, so I decided to make and share one of her favourites - Blueberry Pie. It happens to be the perfect time of year to enjoy blueberry pie since blueberries are at their prime in both price and flavour.

This pie is classic. A crisp, flaky crust housing a sunshine-y filling of blueberries with a hint of lemon. Make this for someone you love and savour the memories while you enjoy it together. xo

Blueberry Pie

  • pie dough for a two crust pie*

  • 4 cups blueberries

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

  • egg wash (1 egg white + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together)

  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Roll one half of the pie dough into a 12 inch circle to fit into a 9 inch pie plate. Transfer to the pie plate and refrigerate while making filling.

To make filling: mix together blueberries and lemon juice. In a separate bowl combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Toss together gently with blueberries. Pour immediately into pie shell. refrigerate while rolling out top crust.

Roll remaining pie dough to fit the top of the pie. Place on top, fold edges under bottom crust and crimp the edges to seal. Using a paring knife or scissors, slice cuts in the top for steam to escape while baking. Refrigerate 10 minutes, or until pie dough has firmed up.

Brush prepared pie with a bit of egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, lower heat to 375ºF and bake an additional 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Let cool completely, to set (1-2 hours), before serving.

Serves: 8

* I used a new pie crust recipe but wasn”t completely happy with it. If you”re needing a recipe, this has been my go-to pie crust for years, except I make it with butter instead of shortening.

Adapted from Williams Sonoma.

(Sweet Cherries!) Rustic Cherry Tart

By in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets 4 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

rustic cherry tart

This post is part of a July series on sweet cherries. To see the other posts head here.

Sweet Cherry Pie. There’s nothing quite like it. Except maybe a sweet cherry tart that’s half the work with just as much flavour. This tart is so easy to put together. The dough gets mixed and rolled out immediately, then it’s filled with raw cherries that are tossed in sugar and a few other ingredients (no pre-cooking necessary!) and then all that’s left is to pop it in the oven. The whole tart is freeform so there are no special pans needed. It’s a perfect quick and summery pastry dessert that gets you out of the kitchen in a jiffy. The longest part of the prep is the pitting of the cherries, but that’s kind of a fun activity to do while you sit out on the deck enjoying the sunshine anyways. At least for me!

This uses my favourite pastry dough for tarts of this kind. It’s sweet, buttery and flakey. And, it’s a breeze to work with and roll out. If you’re new to baking pastries this is a great place to start. It turns out perfect every time.

Rustic Cherry Tart

Pastry Dough
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 tablespoons cold butter, cut up
  • 3-6 tablespoons ice cold water
Cherry Filling
  • 1 pound (3 cups) sweet cherries, halved and pitted
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
To Finish
  • egg wash (1 egg white + 1 teaspoon water, whisked together)
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar

For the Pastry Dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers, quickly break up the butter, tossing it in the flour mixture, until the butter is roughly the size of peas.  Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing together with a fork, until the dough sticks together to form a ball. (The amount of water needed depends on the humidity in your area. Just make sure it sticks together easily without being sticky to the touch.) Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, into a 14 inch circle. Transfer the parchment and dough onto a baking sheet.

Mix together filling ingredients until evenly coated. Pour onto the centre of the tart and spread out to within 2 inches of the edge. Fold up the edges to keep the filling snuggly inside.

Brush the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375ºF for 1 hour, or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Makes: 8 servings

Crust adapted from Taste of Home.

Apple Crisp

By in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

Apple Crisp

I came to a sad realization the other day. I”m a mom. Not that I AM a mom but that I act like a mom. I”ve even become a little bit boring (gasp!).

Not to my 3 year old son, mind you. He thinks I”m hilarious. And, I only need to walk into the room to get a big toothless grin from my girly. They”re my biggest fans.

But, put me in a room with a bunch of adults and I suddenly don”t know what to do with myself. All of the things that spring to my mind would be pretty embarrassing if done in public.

I don”t think anyone would appreciate me talking to them in a terrible texan/irish/made-up accent whenever the conversation goes dull. I don”t know what to say, should I just do a little bum wiggle now to relieve the tension?

I don”t know how to act in public anymore! Or have an adult conversation! I just stand there stiff as a board, appearing to be the most boring person in the world.

I don”t really mind that things are this way right now because I”ll have plenty of time to chat with proper adults when my kids leave the house and I”m looking for something to fill their void. And, the years will come when they”ll have more fun doing dorky things with their friends and just hoping that their mom won”t do dorky things in front of their friends.

I”ll re-learn how to have an adult conversation. I might even get my adult sense of humour back. But, for now I”ll revel in the dorky/wacky/giggly phase of my life that I have to try and hide from the rest of the world.

Because who doesn”t want to be themselves all the time? You know… the way we really want to act but hide so people will actually talk to us? I get to act that way pretty much all day, every day. And, that”s pretty awesome.

Apple crisp is one of those classic recipes that every mom needs to have in her repertoire. One that her kids will look back on with fond memories. Where just the smell of it conjures up images of times past. I think we all have foods in our lives that do that. And, I”m here to arm you with a recipe that has the potential to do just that.

This apple crisp is no frills, no fuss and absolutely delicious. The perfect combination for any classic homespun dish. It”s just waiting for the memories to accompany it. I think this is one dessert I could make every week and not get sick of.

Keep your eyes peeled because I”ll be sharing a recipe later this week that just happens to be perfect dolloped on top of this crisp.

Apple Crisp

If you”re family doesn”t like nuts you can omit them from the crisp topping.

  • 4-5 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (6 cups sliced)

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons flour

Crisp Topping

  • 1/2 cup flour

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • pinch salt

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

  • 5 tablespoons butter, softened

In a large bowl toss together apples, brown sugar and flour. Place into a 9 inch round pan or an 8×8 inch square pan.

Mix together the first 6 topping ingredients. Mix in butter until evenly blended. Sprinkle over apples in pan.

Bake at 350ºF for 50-60 minutes, or until apples are cooked through, filling is bubbly and topping is golden.

Makes: 4-6 servings

Maple Roasted Peach Crisps

By in Breakfast, Fruit, Pastries 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Maple Roasted Peach Crisps

Max started barnehage (preschool) this week. I have to admit it”s been rather rough on me. This is the first time he”s been away from home consistently and the house feels so empty. I”ll admit that more than a few tears have been shed, on my part not his. He”s absolutely loving it and not missing me one bit. How”d he grow up so fast? Sniff.

The weather has cooled off a bit, the leaves have lost a bit of their vibrancy, my little boy is gone during the day. It feels like fall.

But it”s not fall. And I”m not ready for it to be fall. I can”t seem to help my mind from heading in that direction though so I”m trying to bridge the gap a bit and hold on to summer for a little longer.

These Maple Roasted Peach Crisps seemed like the perfect way to switch gears a bit while still enjoying summer fruit. They”re warm and comforting, soft and crisp, tangy and sweet. A good reminder of why I”ll be ready for fall when it really comes around.

I”ve always been a big fan of individual desserts. They are so much prettier to plate and everyone gets the same serving sizes so there”s no fighting over the biggest piece. ;)

These are actually a lot less work then a regular crisp because you don”t have to chop the fruit and toss it with other ingredients. Not that, that is hard to do but less work is less work. :) It feels and tastes healthier too, which is the way I like to enjoy my desserts in the summer.

Note: If you don”t want to make the whole batch at once you can make the crumble topping and store it in the fridge. When you want a couple fresh crisps: make as directed below and put the remaining crisp topping back in the fridge.

Maple Roasted Peach Crisps

For an indulgent breakfast serve this on its own or with a spoonful of yogurt. For dessert: a dollop of whipped cream or a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Peaches

  • 4 peaches, halved and pitted

  • maple syrup

Crisp Topping

  • 1/4 cup flour

  • 1/4 cup rolled oats

  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • pinch salt

  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds

  • 2.5 tablespoon butter, melted

Place peaches in a rimmed pan, brush with maple syrup.

Combine crisp ingredients until evenly moistened with butter. Carefully place 2 tablespoon topping onto each peach halve.

Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until peaches are tender and topping is browned. Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes: 8 servings

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