Apple Pie Recipe

I am a cake person. I prefer cake. With the rare exception of the creamy pies (from scratch no-bake cheesecake, for example) or the annual pumpkin pie (yum), I rarely eat pie. Yet I am surrounded by people who love pie. Who would rather have pie for their birthdays (gasp!). So, I make birthday pie. Hee hee.

Fruit pie is best made with fresh seasonal produce, and fall is the perfect time to use some of the amazing apples that are available. Most of this pie was made with deliciously tart Granny Smith apples, but when I ran short I threw in a few Honeycrisp apples to fill it out. Pie is very forgiving, and more is usually better.

Ingredients
6 cups of peeled, cored and sliced apples (about 6 large)
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter or equivalent
Pastry for 2-crust, 9-inch pie

I recommend organic sugar if you can get it, and if you use a butter substitute, I suggest trying a non-hydrogenated type. Any pastry you prefer will be fine.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Position your oven racks so that the top rack is in the middle and the bottom rack is below. Place a cookie sheet, pizza pan or a sheet of foil on the bottom rack to catch any overflowing pie filling.

2. Use half of your pastry to line a 9-inch pie plate. Let the other half rest while preparing the apples.

3. Peel, core and slice your apples and place in large bowl. I use a hand-crank apple peeler/corer/slicer and it goes really fast. I run the apples through and then just cut each spiral in half to make a stack of semi-circle slices. Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice if they are turning brown quickly or if they lack tartness.

4. To the apples, add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix.

5. Pour the apple mixture into your prepared pie pan. Dot the top with the butter.

6. Use the other half of your pastry to cover the top of the pie. Cut steam vents and seal edges. You can use strips of foil to protect the edges of the pie crust, but I don't usually find that necessary.

7. Bake at 400 for 45-50 minutes or until done.

You want to let the pie cool before slicing, unless you don't mind it when the filling all slides out! Otherwise, let it settle before you slice, and you'll get nice pieces that won't fall apart.

Enjoy! :-)

No-Bake Cheesecake Recipe

I adore cheesecake. Love, love, love it. But sometimes I want to get all the delicious cheesecake flavor without the extra effort. Or sometimes I want to put cheesecake on something else, like pumpkin pie. Especially for those occasions, I created this easy, addictive no-bake cheesecake recipe.

Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese (one package)
8 oz whipping cream (1 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Unless you are using the cheesecake as a topping, you will also need a pre-prepared crust, either a pre-baked pie crust or a graham cracker crust.

Method

1. Whip the cream until stiff. For instructions, see How To Make Whipped Cream. Set aside.

2. Whip the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until fluffy. Scrape the bowl often and really whip it up. Don't skip the lemon juice, even if you're pairing the cheesecake with another flavor. It's an essential ingredient. It doesn't make the cheesecake taste lemony, just gives it a depth of flavor that you need since there's no eggs or baking involved.

3. Add the whipped cream back in and whip until the whole thing is smooth, smooth, smooth. It might take a few minutes to get all the lumps out.

4. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into a pre-made crust (I recommend graham cracker) or onto another pie (like pumpkin), or just into bowls to eat like pudding.

5. Chill until firm.

The cheesecake will firm up and be slice able in a couple of hours, and you'll need to store the cheescake in the fridge until it's all gone. Which shouldn't be too long!

Enjoy! :-)

Graham Cracker Crust

One of my favorite no-bake pie crusts is the classic graham cracker crust. It's tasty, crunchy and great with all types of no-bake pies such as no-bake cheesecake. The best part? It's super easy.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (about 20 squares)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 Tablespoons sugar

In addition to your ingredients, you will need a 9- or 10-inch pie pan, a large, sealable plastic bag and a rubber mallet (or rolling pin).

Method

1. First, put all the graham crackers in the plastic bag and smash them into crumbs using the rubber mallet. Or, if you don't have a mallet, you can roll them with the rolling pin. Set aside.

It's always helpful to have a destruction-inclined child at the ready for this operation.

2. Next, if your pie plate is microwave safe, melt the butter directly in it. If not, melt the butter in a microwave safe container and pour into the pie plate.

3. Add the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar to the pan. Mix thoroughly.

4. Press the mixture into the pan uniformly, starting on the bottom, then pressing the corner and sides. Finally, press an even edge into the top rim of the crust.

5. Chill the crust in the refrigerator for an hour to solidify.

That's it! You're now ready to fill that crust with something fantastic.

Naturally, I recommend no-bake cheesecake (coming up next!)

How To Make Whipped Cream

Whipped cream is an essential element in many desserts, and one of the easiest. Making whipped cream at home is a great choice for many reasons: it's tastier, cheaper and has no preservatives, corn syrup or other chemicals, and best of all, is done in five minutes.

Ingredients

For a sweetener, you can use sugar, or you could experiment with maple syrup, honey or anything else that sounds good to you.

You may find you prefer more or less sweetener -- feel free to adjust to your taste. Make sure to use a new clean spoon each time you check the flavor, though, and do get your taste set before you whip.

For basic whipped cream I don't use a flavoring at all because I like the flavor of the cream itself. But if you prefer you could add a bit of vanilla. Or if you want to get wild, you could try chocolate, coffee, almond extract, peppermint... anything that sounds appealing.

Method

Put it all in a clean mixing bowl and whip until you're done. It really is important that the bowl is clean, or it could affect your results. Some people prefer to use a chilled bowl, but I usually haven't thought that far ahead and my cream whips up just fine.

If you don't have a stand mixer, a hand-held mixer will do, or if you don't have any mixer, you can whip the cream by hand using a wire whisk.

If your recipe asks for cream whipped to "soft peaks," your whipped cream is done when it leaves soft, rounded mounds when the whisk is pulled out.

If your recipe doesn't specify a stiffness, or if you are making the whipped cream to top pie or another dessert, you will want stiff whipped cream. It should be stiff enough so that the whisk leaves a network of canyons in the cream as it moves through. Do watch the cream closely at this stage, however; if it whips too long, you will end up with butter.

Whipped cream tends to breaks down, or "separate," over time, so plan to use it within a few days. Storing in the refrigerator in a covered glass container is best. Plastic will work, but the cream may separate sooner.

Another tip is to make sure never to put fingers or used spoons back into the whipped cream being stored in the fridge. It will make it separate all that much faster. Use a new clean spoon each time you taste.

Wasn't that easy? Now you have a good supply of cream for topping pie, pudding or even a steaming mug of hot chocolate. You could also make my No-Bake Cheesecake which uses the real thing instead of that frozen stuff. Why use that stuff when you can have this?

Or you could just eat it plain.

Yum!

Soft Sugar Cookie

One of my favorite cookies is a sugar cookie, and I like them soft and thick and smothered with buttercream frosting.

For me, this is the perfect cookie.

Ingredients

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream

Preparing Dough

1. Sift the flour, then measure out four cups. Measure the flour by spooning into the measuring cup and leveling with a knife. Don't scoop the flour up with the measuring cup.

2. Sift four more times (yes, four) with the baking powder, soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the fats until smooth.

4. Add sugar gradually, creaming well.

5. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy.

6. Add approximately 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix until smooth.

7. Add approximately 1/2 of the sour cream, mix until smooth.

8. Continue to add and mix flour and sour cream, alternately, ending with flour.

9. Cover bowl and refrigerate dough for several hours, or until firm enough to shape. I usually leave mine overnight.

Shaping and Baking Cookies

This dough is very soft, even when chilled, and can be difficult to work with if you aren't relatively patient. Work with small amounts at a time with plenty of flour, and keep the remaining dough in the fridge between batches. It's a little tricky, but the end result is so worth it.

1. When ready to shape and bake cookies, grease cookie sheets and preheat oven to 425 degrees (yes, 425 degrees).

2. Working in small batches, pat the dough out with your hands. Use a rolling pin to smooth the top if necessary. You want the dough fairly thick; a generous 1/4" is what I use.

3. Cut with cookie cutters of your choice, but try to use cutters at least 3" across or bigger.

4. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake 6-8 minutes, or until just set.

5. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Of course, you could sprinkle them with sugar before baking, but for me, the true treat is eating these cookies with a thick layer of my favorite buttercream frosting.

Let me know if you try it!

Best,