Baker, baker… bake me a pie

It’s apple month over at Farm Chick Chit Chat, and to get everyone excited about the new blog we are having an “apple pie recipe-off” to gather everyone’s favorite apple pie recipes.

Confession: I hate making pie. I mean, I LOVE to bake…, just not pie. I think it has something to do with the fact that both my mother and mother-in-law are amazing pie bakers….I have pie- envy. Generally, I won’t even make more than one apple pie a year because, honestly, everyone would rather eat one of theirs

So, with that I give you the best recipe I have… which is mostly just a copy of my mom’s. But to start a good pie, one must have a great crust- and here I have a dilemma. Do I use my mother-in-law’s or my own dear sweet momma’s??? See what I’m saying?? I honestly can’t say which is tastier. My hubby will of course vote for his mom’s (and in a dimwitted moment once actually said that to my mom!!!), so I naturally usually make my mom’s

How about this- I will give you both and you decide. Settle the matter for me, please!

Mom’s Recipe for pie crust
1 stick softened butter
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
Dash of nutmeg
3 tbsp cold water

In a large bowl use a pastry cutter to blend the flour, butter, salt and nutmeg. When crumbly, add cold water slowly and mix until a doughy ball forms. Divide the dough in 1/2 and roll out on a floured surface. Makes 2 crusts.

His mom’s pie crust recipe
3 cups flour
1-1/2 cup Crisco
1 tbsp cider vinegar
5 tbsp water
1 egg

Blend flour and Crisco together in a bowl with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
In a small bowl, mix together egg, vinegar, and water. Mix all together lightly to create a very sticky dough. Divide into 3. Roll dough out on floured surface. (makes 3 crusts)

Okay, so on to the filling:
6-8 peeled chopped apples (Macs or Galas are our preference)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl stir together apples, sugar, and cinnamon and transfer to pie dish onto bottom crust. Add top crust and pinch together in whatever manner suits you ( I usually use a fork). Sprinkle crust liberally with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 350 and continue baking for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden.

What a crock (of apples)

They say you are never too old to learn something new, and my 8 year old just taught me something- so I guess it is true! We just made a batch of crockpot applesauce – a project her class did at school last year. Sooooooo ridiculously easy and YUM!!!!’

Recipe:
8-10 large apples, peeled and chopped (the smaller the pieces the better).
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar ( we did 1/2 brown, 1/2 white)
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in crockpot, cook on low for about 8 hrs – stirring and mashing occasionally.

Your house will smell amazing by the way 🙂

This is so easy to do- I plan on making at least one batch a week for the foreseeable future!

Welcome, Farm Chick Chit Chat!

I am so excited to be included in the new Farm Chick Chit Chat blog! Please be sure to follow the link to check it out- you will find a wonderful community of fellow bloggers with an interest in farming.

As I have said before, fall is by far my most favorite season and I am thrilled that it is finally around the corner! We have been trying to pack in as much activity as possible into the last couple of weeks to close out the summer, and the kids head off to school this week. I cannot believe our baby is starting school this year…and am much sadder about it than I had expected to be. The backpacks are packed, pencils sharpened, and new jackets hung by the door! I don’t know about the rest of you, but the start of the school year always feels like a new beginning to me- more so than New Year’s. Time to start new routines, get busy with the knitting projects I’ve had on hold all summer, and a renewed interest in cooking and meal-planning.

My family welcomes fall as the return of “mom’s baking!” season…and to kick things off I thought a cake would be perfect to celebrate back-to-school. I found this “harvest celebration” cake in a Gooseberry Patch cookbook a number of years ago, and it has always gone over well.

For the 1st day of school, I tossed a beef stew in the crockpot and once both the kiddos were off on their awfully big adventures I baked them this cake 🙂 The flavors really seemed perfect to celebrate the new school year.

While the recipe calls for 1 hour of baking time, I had to bake it for an extra 15 minutes…. Not sure why but it could be due to my substitution of applesauce in place of the oil.

Harvest cake (originally from Gooseberry Patch)

1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup oil ( I substitute applesauce)
2 cups flour
15 oz can pumpkin
1 apple- cored, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional- I skip them)

Combine sugar, brown sugar, baking soda , salt and spices. Add in the oil ( or applesauce if you prefer), vanilla and eggs. Add flour slowly- beating in a bit at a time. Stir in the pumpkin, apples and nuts. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Pour batter into pan, bake at 350 degrees for an hour (or until cooked through). Let cool and frost with icing if desired. Serves 10-12. We skip the icing and eat it more like a bread. It’s delicious!