We went to Centennial Farms and got a bag of apples. While it was a fun family activity, on the drive back I kept thinking that I had just filled up my weekend and evenings coming up because I would have to do something with them quickly. Fortunately I had several easy, yummy apple recipes stashed away and we successfully ate them all before they even had a chance to think about going bad!
Topsy-Turvy Apple Pie
Glaze & Crust:
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T butter, melted
1 T corn syrup
1/2 c pecan halves
1 box refrigerated piecrusts, softened as directed on box
Filling:
2/3 c sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 c sliced apples
Heat oven to 425°. In 9" glass pie plate, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Spread evenly in bottom of pie plate. Arrange pecans over mixture. (I left the pecans off b/c I didn't have any on hand and it still tasted YUMMY.) Make piecrusts as directed on box for two-crust pie, placing bottom crust over mixture in pan.
In small bowl, mix sugar, flour and cinnamon. Arrange half of apple slices in crust-lined plate. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining apples and sugar. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
Place pie on sheet of foil (or baking sheet) on middle oven rack; bake 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°; bake 35-45 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Immediately run knife around edge of pie to loosen. Place serving plate upside down over pie; turn serving plate nad pie plate over. Remove pie plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.
The only thing I would do differently next time is to spray the pan with oil first. My bottom pie crust stuck to the pan in places, making it a little messy on top when I flipped it over. Maybe this is because I didn't use the pecans, but better safe than sorry, especially if I was making it for something other than just our house.
Glazed Cinnamon Apples
6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut in 8 wedges
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
2 T flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
6 T butter, melted
Place apples in a slow-cooker; drizzle with lemon juice. Mix sugars, flour and spices in a medium bowl. Sprinkle mixture over apples; stir gently to coat apples. Drizzle with butter. Place lid on slow-cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours or high for 2 hours until apples are done. Carefully remove lid to allow steam to escape. Serve warm apple topping over ice cream.
My apples were Winesap, not Granny Smith - as long as they're a good cooking apple they'll be fantastic. Also I substitued pumpkin pie spice for nutmeg since I used the last of my nutmeg a few days earlier. And the first time I made this (I actually made the recipe twice in one week, once for my family and then later for some friends who came over) I used the full 6 T of butter and it seemed unnecessary. The second time I reduced it to 1 1/2 T and that even seemed unnecessary. I think next time I'll leave it out entirely.
