Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish... and Spring Break

Good morning! How are y'all? It's been a while. My girls just returned to school last week after a fun-filled Spring Break. We stayed home since our summer vacation is just around the corner. My girls started off Spring Break by throwing me a Family Surprise Birthday Party.

My parents came over to play with the girls while my husband and I went out to dinner. When we got home, I walk in the garage door to a very dark house. I said out loud, "it's so dark and quiet in here...they must be upstairs watching a movie." Then everybody jumped out of the kitchen yelling, "Surprise!!! Happy Birthday!!!" It was shocking and sweet all at the same time. My favorite MIL had a special cake made for me from Elizabeth's Bakery. It was so good! Layers of moist vanilla cake filled with Bavarian cream and iced with vanilla buttercream.

I received the most precious gifts from my girls, and fun and practical gifts from my parents and brother. It was an amazing surprise party!

Daddy had to work all week, but we did take the girls to visit the animals at the Zoo on his day off during the week. Uncle Jason is back in town, so he was able to go with us. He's a lot of fun...he's a big kid at heart and the girls absolutely love spending time with him. My mom, brother, and I also took the girls to eat lunch at the best BBQ restaurant on this side of Texas. Then we rolled into the movies to see Oz the Great and Powerful in 3D. It was a great movie. My little Jodyn didn't like the scary witch very much though, but at least she didn't lose any sleep over it. We also played in the slightly heated hot tub a few times during the week. The weather was beautiful all week.

I'm very thankful my girls are best friends and can play together for hours together without fighting too much. I'm also very thankful for their very patient teachers that spend 8 hours with them every day. I have so much respect for teachers!

Are you ready for an easy breakfast recipe now? This blueberry cream cheese danish starts off with a tube of refrigerated crescent dough with a delectable cinnamon cream cheese filling and stuffed full of fresh blueberries. As if that's not enough, you generously drizzle vanilla icing over the entire baked danish. My girls went crazy over this breakfast treat. I also made a cinnamon apple version of this danish.

Did you know Pillsbury now sells the crescent dough in a seamless dough sheet? It's makes recipes like this even easier, and it's the same price. If you can't find this new gem in your local grocery store, you can use the regular crescent rolls and press the seams together.

Adapted from Lauren's Latest

Danish Ingredients:

1 tube Pillsbury crescent seamless dough sheet (or crescent rolls)
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 block), softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Unroll the crescent dough and place onto prepared baking sheet. If using regular crescent roll dough, line the squares up along the length of baking sheet, overlapping slightly. Press seams together.  Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up both long sides of dough.

In a bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour. Spread the filling down the middle of prepared dough between the diagonal strips. Spread the blueberries evenly over filling. Carefully fold the strips to the middle of filling, alternating sides to get braided effect. You will lay a strip on the of the opposite sides strip and press slightly to seal. Continue the length of the dough. Fold the ends into filling to prevent the filling from leaking out onto baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until danish is golden brown on top. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.

Transfer danish to serving platter and generously drizzle with vanilla icing. Cut into 8 pieces and serve. Enjoy!

Note: To make cinnamon apple version, here's how to make homemade cinnamon apple filling.

Cinnamon Apples:

2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T water
1 tsp cinnamon

Cook in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are fork tender, about 7 minutes.

Caramel Apple Dip

This is a sweet, creamy dip that goes great with fruit, baby carrots, and cookies like Nilla wafers or Teddy Grahams.  I made this for our weekly Dallas Cowboys football watching party, and it was a huge hit, as you can tell from the picture below!  This recipe is from my daughter's school cookbook. 

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whip until combined using a hand mixer.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie

My hubby recently got back in contact with a friend from our high school days.  Todd told him how much I love to cook and bake and that I started writing my own cooking blog.  His friend said that his wife, Amy, also loves to cook and co-wrote a cookbook with a friend of hers, Grace.  I ordered it right away and stayed up late reading it  cover to cover the day it arrived in the mail.   

It is called Keeping Up Cookbook, Written by:  Grace Ivory Rock and Amy Henriksen Foulger

Amy and Grace also have a Blog, and a Facebook page.  Show them some love!

This cookbook has over 250 recipes, a "collection of tried and true favorites" they have "tested and tweaked during the last decade".  There are appetizers, breakfasts, baked goods, soups, salads, side dishes, dinners, sweets, and cookies (my favorite). 

There are many recipes I have bookmarked to try and will be sharing a few of them with you.  The first recipe is this amazing Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie!  It was seriously so good!  The Fall season can't get here soon enough for me, but I think that apple pie is perfect year round.  Baked apples and cinnamon are a favorite combination in our home, and I have an entire category devoted to it on my blog. 

Can you believe I made a homemade pie crust too, and it was great?  I used Matha Stewart's pie crust recipe, which makes two crusts, so I have an extra one waiting in the freezer.

Ingredients:

1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust, chilled

Apple Filling:

2 1/2 lbs Granny Smith apples (5 large), peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2/3 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup)
2-3 T flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place the pie crust in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate and refrigerate until ready to use.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, stir together apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter.  Set aside.

Crumb Topping:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
6 T cold butter, cut into small pieces

You can either use a pastry cutter, fork, or your food processor to blend the crumb topping ingredients together.  Mix together the flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then cut in the chilled butter (or pulse in food processor) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Transfer apple filling to chilled pie crust and sprinkle with crumb topping.  Place on foil lined baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.  Apples should be fork tender.  Cool for 1 hour to allow it to set up.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy! 

Note:  Leftovers can be reheated in the oven to keep the topping and pie crust crispy.  It's also really good cold from the refrigerator.

Apple~Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

It's no secret my girls and I love anything with cooked apples and cinnamon.  I even created a new category for Apples/Cinnamon recipes.  I was trying to think of a recipe to use up some huge Granny Smith apples from the fridge.  I originally was thinking of incorporating them in a Snickerdoodle bundt cake, but the recipes I found did not look as moist as a Spice cake.  So when I'm not sure what to make, I google it.  Google is my friend and I enjoy looking at the images first, then choosing from there. 

This recipe is adapted from a favorite recipe site...marthastewart.com!  I did make some recipe changes.  I substituted some of the white flour with whole wheat flour, and used apple pie spice and cinnamon instead of just cinnamon.  I also added cinnamon apple sauce to make sure it stayed moist.  I used apple juice and cinnamon in the glaze for even more flavor.  It was amazing, my kids told me so, and who can argue with 3 picky little eaters!

To give you an idea of what this cake tastes like, think moist spice cake, apple pie, and apple fritters all mixed up.  This cake is best served warm with a little extra glaze drizzled over top.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce
4 large eggs
5 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 T apple juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the white flour, whole wheat flour, apple pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, apple sauce, and eggs until smooth.  Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.  Use a rubber spatula to fold in the apples.  Pour batter into a 12-cup Bundt pan and smooth top

Note:  The batter will be very thick and just barely coat the apples.  The apples with release their moisture and the batter will become cake.  Don't worry!

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, stir together powdered sugar, apple juice, and cinnamon.  Spoon over top of cooled cake.  Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Warm apple pie has to be the most comforting dessert when it's cold outside.  I made this the day we played outside on our snow day. 

This pie can be made quickly by using refrigerated pre-made pie crusts.  Just a few simple ingredients, about 45 minutes in the oven, and you will be able to enjoy a piece of warm apple pie...a la mode if you please!

Ingredients:

1 Box Pillsbury pie crusts (2 crusts)
6 large Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you like your pie)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
3 T flour
egg + 1 T water, for egg wash
sugar and cinnamon, for top crust garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove your pie crusts from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. 

Prepare your apples by peeling, coring, and slicing them into thin strips.  Add them to a large bowl of water with a splash of lemon juice as you are slicing them to keep from browning.

Press a pie crust into the bottom of a deep dish glass pie pan.  Drain and pat the apples dry.  Place them back into the large bowl.  Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, apple pie spice, cinnamon, and flour to the apples and stir to coat them evenly.

Pour the apples into the pie crust and mound slightly.

Now, you can either use a cute shaped cookie cutter for the top crust, or just place the crust on top and cut slits to allow the steam to escape.  I used our Valentine heart shaped cookie cutters to decorate the top crust.  Use your fingers to crimp and seal the crust edges together.

Brush the top and edges with egg wash.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Cover crust with foil, and continue to bake another 15 minutes, or until golden brown and apples are tender.  Let cool slightly before cutting so it will set up.  Enjoy with a big scoop of ice cream! 

Mini Monkey Bread

My kids slept late this morning, not realizing that I had snuck into their rooms late last night and turned off their annoying alarm clocks.  Our school district was the first to post school closings on the evening news!  Yea...snow day!  We rarely have winter storms, so when we do, the whole town shuts down.  So what this means is that my girls get a special breakfast, which are usually saved for only the weekend mornings.  I searched my bucket list breakfast recipes, and found one for Monkey Bread using store bought biscuits.  I could have this whipped  up in no time!

The original recipe on the Pillsbury site called for 2 cans of those huge Grands biscuits, and to cook it in a bundt pan.  I only had 2 cans of the regular size 10 count biscuits, and since I love individual portions, I decided to make them in a jumbo muffin tin.  I also added some diced Granny Smith apples and golden raisins between the layers and on top.  Then I drizzled them with a simple vanilla glaze while still warm.  They taste like a cinnamon roll/apple strudel doughnut.  My girls and I loved them!  They even asked if I would make them over and over again.  This recipe makes 4. 

Ingredients:

2 cans 10 count Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Optional: apples and raisins
2 T unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Vanilla Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a jumbo muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a gallon zip lock bag.  Cut each biscuit in half, roll into a ball, and place in the bag.  Seal it and shake well to coat each ball.  Place a layer of the dough balls (about 4-5) in 4 muffin tins, add the apples and raisins (if using), then add another layer of dough balls on top.  Top with more apples and raisins.

In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, stir together the 2 T butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Cook for one minute while stirring.  Pour over each Monkey Bread.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown (keep an eye on them).  Place muffin tin on a wire rack and let cool for 3 minutes.  Invert onto a large platter.  Mix together vanilla glaze and drizzle over top.  Enjoy!
   

Linked up at:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Potluck Sunday
Sweets For Saturday

Cinnamon Apple and Cranberry Oatmeal

I make brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal quite often on the weekends.  My girls think it's a treat when I use the oatmeal out of the round container that takes a whole 5 minutes to cook.  School mornings are always so rushed that they get the packaged oatmeal from the microwave that only takes a minute. 

I have to admit that I was addicted to the packaged flavored oatmeal when I was pregnant with my Madison.  I would eat one every morning after I got to work.  My co-workers knew not to talk to me until after I had my oatmeal.  Pregnant women can be quite cranky in the mornings when hungry and tired.  That's when my love for oatmeal started, and now, my girls love it too.

Have you noticed my family likes cinnamon and apples together?  I decided to combine the flavors of the brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal with cinnamon apples.  And I thew in some chewy dried cranberries for flavor, texture, and color.  My little Jordyn still does not like oatmeal, but I still get her to try a bite whenever I make it.  Lucky for me, I got to eat her bowl of Cinnamon Apple and Cranberry Oatmeal!  This recipe makes 3 servings.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups water
2 cups Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
3 T water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
dried cranberries
dash of milk

In a medium sauce pan, add water and bring to a boil.  Stir in the oats,and cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the diced apples, 3 T water, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Cook until apples are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

When the oatmeal is cooked, pour in the sauce from the cinnamon apples and add a dash of milk to make it nice and creamy, and stir up it good.  Serve up in bowls, and top with the apples and cranberries.  Enjoy!

Banana Apple Cupcake Muffins

I wanted to make my girls a new sweet treat with bananas.  I have already made Moist Banana Muffins, Banana Blueberry Streusel Muffins, and Apple Cinnamon Spice Muffins.  I thought it would be great to combine the flavors of bananas and apples and add a vanilla icing/glaze on top.  I'm calling these cupcake muffins simply because they are more dense like a cupcake and have an icing (not frosting) on top.  These would be a great breakfast, snack, or dessert...you choose.   I also added some dried cranberries to a few of them.  Delicious! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 bananas, mashed
1 Granny smith apple, peeled and diced small

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cupcake/muffin tins with 17 paper liners.

In a large stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix.  Add the yogurt, apple sauce, and vanilla extract, and mix until incorporated.  Sift in the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Turn mixer on low and mix just until combined.  Remove the mixing bowl and fold in the mashed bananas and diced apples.  You can also stir in some golden raisins or dried cranberries.

Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners almost full.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out almost clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.  

Vanilla Icing/Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T plus 1 Tsp milk

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour into a plastic sandwich bag, cut a small hole in the corner, and drizzle over the cooled cupcakes.  Enjoy!

Linked up at:

Full Plate Thursdays at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Let's Do Brunch

This Mommy Cooks-Sweet Treat Tuesday

Chunky Cinnamon Apple Sauce

This is my Mimaw's recipe that I found in my Mom's recipe file.  I remember it always being in the fridge every time I visited her and my Meemaw.  My girls love cinnamon apple sauce, and I have to admit, I've never made it homemade.  I've always bought Mott's, and my girls top it with a maraschino cherry.  Now that I know how easy it is to make, there's no excuse not to make it more often when Granny Smith apples are in season.  It sure brings back memories of my sweet Mimaw.  I miss her dearly.

Ingredients:

4-5 cups Granny Smith apples (3 very large or 6 small), peeled and sliced thin
1/4 cup white sugar
1 T brown sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large sauce pan, add all ingredients and stir to coat apples.  Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the lid and stir well to break up the apples.  Cook another few minutes until the mixture is thickened.  Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Upside Down Apple Spice Cake with Coconut

So here's my prep list for tomorrow to get ready for Thanksgiving:

Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pecan Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Topping
Caramel Apple Pie
Dinner Rolls

All of these dishes have to be cooked before I go to bed tomorrow.  And my list for Thanksgiving morning is just as long!  All 3 of my girls are home from school this week for Thanksgiving break.  So can you believe I decided I just had to bake up something sweet today while my little Jordyn was taking her nap?  Call me crazy but I just LOVE to bake now!

I'm stuck on apples and cinnamon lately.  It's finally Fall, even though it's been in the upper 70's all week.  I'm looking forward for the cold front that's supposed to arrive on Thursday and stay through Friday.  I want to make all of my Fall time favorite soups and baked goods.

I bought a Spice Cake mix at the store yesterday and I decided it was going to be the focus of my mad baking experiment.  It's just so flavorful and versatile in the fall!  And you don't have to measure out all those darn dry ingredients and have flour and cinnamon all over your kitchen.  I hope you enjoy the cake I created!  It's not too late to add it to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Cake Ingredients:

1 - Betty Crocker Spice cake mix
1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce
1 1/4 cup water
1 T vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup diced Granny Smith apples

Apple Topping:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced (dice up 1/2 cup for cake mix)
1 T butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Caramel Topping:
4 T butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large stand mixer, add cake mix, apple sauce, water, vegetable oil, and eggs.  Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Stir in the coconut and diced apples.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, add the 1 T butter, sliced apples, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Saute until just pliable, about 3 minutes.  This will make it easier to arrange them in the bundt pan without breaking them.  Remove and set aside.  

Use the same sauce pan to melt the 4 T butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes. 

While this is cooking you can arrange the apples in the bundt pan.

Pour the caramel sauce over the apples. 

Then pour the cake mix over the caramel. 

Bake for 42-45 minutes, or until the cake springs back to the touch.  I also tested mine with a long skewer just to make sure it was done in the middle.  This is a very moist cake.

When the cake is done, place a plate over the top and carefully turn it over.  Be careful not to burn yourself in any of the caramel drips out...I speak from experience.  Enjoy!

Linked up at:
Siggy Spice - Thanksgiving Dessert Extravaganza
Tuesdays at the Table - All the Small Stuff

Apple and Cinnamon Spice Muffins

Cold weather always gets me in the mood to bake.  My hubby says that I'm addicted!  I bought a recipe book at Garden Ridge a while back that's simply called Muffins by Love Food.  I bookmarked a few of them to try.  This is the first one that I made.  Apples and cinnamon are a favorite in our home.  This recipe makes only 7 muffins, which is good.  We always have a hard time eating 15 muffins before they lose their freshness.  My daughter Taylor has eaten 4 of these since yesterday morning.  She really loves muffins and cinnamon apples are a favorite side dish.  This is the best of both worlds!  These muffins also use a mixture of whole wheat and white flour.  I made some changes to the original recipe.  I used Apple pie spice and extra ground cinnamon, and I used oats and melted butter in the topping.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp Apple pie spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 small apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
4 T butter, melted

Topping:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 T old fashioned oats
1 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 7 paper liners in a muffin pan.

Sift the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar and chopped apples.  Place the milk, egg, and butter in a separate bowl and mix.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners.

To make the topping, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

 Sprinkle topping over the muffins.

 
Bake for 18 minutes, or until risen and golden.  Place pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.  These are best served warm.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Pancakes with Maple Bacon

What's for dinner tonight?  It HAS to be breakfast since I forgot to plan a meal and did not grocery shop today.  My girls like breakfast any time of day, so it was a special treat for them.  I cooked a lot this week and enjoyed making a simple meal.  My girls cleaned their plates.  Taylor even licked her clean...yuck!  My girls can't wait to spend the night at their Mimi and Dandad's house next weekend.  They always get treated to IHOP on Sunday morning.  Maybe next week I will make a quiche for dinner one evening...the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

8 pieces of thick slice bacon
Maple or regular pancake syrup

2 apples, diced small (I used Granny Smith)
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 T brown sugar
1/4 cup water

1 cup Hungry Jack Buttermilk Complete pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay bacon on foil lined baking sheet.  Lightly drizzle syrup over bacon (just a little bit).  Bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy.

In a small pan, add diced apples, dash of cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, 1 T brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water.  Simmer on low until apples are tender, about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, add pancake mix, water, and cinnamon.  Stir until combined.  Heat a large skillet or griddle on medium low heat.  Cook pancakes until golden brown.

Top pancakes with cinnamon apple mixture and syrup.  Enjoy with your maple bacon!

Caramel Apple Pie

I made this pretty apple pie for our Nana and Grandad this past weekend.  They told us to keep half of the pie to enjoy.  It was delicious!  I attempted a homemade pie crust for the first time ever in my life...let's just say I was only able to use the bottom crust.  The top crust fell apart when I was trying to cut it into strips for lattice.  I ended up using a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust for the top.  It worked out perfectly!  The homemade flavor of the crust under the apples and the thin pie crust lattice worked well together.  Next time, I will be using 2 Pillsbury pie crusts.  Pie crust is NOT my friend!  I need for my Mom to teach me how to make pie crust the next time she comes over.  She told me that my Grandma Connie taught her years ago when she was learning to cook for my Dad.  My Grandma Connie was an amazing Southern cook and baker...I sure do miss her.  I found this apple pie recipe on allrecipes.com.

Here are some pie crust recipes if you are a daring baker:  Perfect Pie Crust Recipes.  I made the "Combination Butter and Shortening Crust".

Ingredients:

1 recipe for 9 inch double crust pie (or 1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 T all purpuse flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Peel, core, and slice the apples very thin.  Place sliced apples in a large bowl of water as you complete them to prevent browning.  When all the apples are sliced, drain the water.  Add 1 tsp cinnamon over apples and stir to coat them all.   

Place the bottom crust in a 9 inch pie pan.  Fill with the cinnamon apples, and mound slightly.  

Roll out top crust slightly so it is thinner.  Use a pastry cutter or sharp knife to cut into 1/2 inch strips.  Cover the apples with the lattice strips.  Roll the overlapping lattice strips under the bottom pie crust.  Use your fingers to crimp the edges.  Here are some helpful instructions for the lattice top:  Lattice Pie Crust Instructions and Lattice Pie Crust Instructional Video

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, reduced temperature to low, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Slowly pour the caramel mixture over the crust, being careful so that it does not run off.

Wrap the thick pie crust edges with foil so they do not burn.  You will remove this later in the cooking process so it will brown.

Place apple pie on foil lined baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil from the edges of the crust and bake another 10 minutes.

Let the pie cool for an hour or so so it can set up.  Now serve yourself up a big piece with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!  

Linked up at:
Homemade Holidays Recipe Swap - And Baby Makes Five
Tidy Mom - Love the Pie

Cinnamon Apple Galette

Fall weather always gets me in the mood for warm apple pie.  I have seen some galette recipes on For the Love of Cooking.  It looks like a free form pie with the center completely open so you can see the delicious filling. I searched google images to find an appetizing apple galette since my favorite blogs didn't have a recipe using apples. I came across this caramel apple galette at everydayhealth.com.  I changed up the recipe a little so the apple filling creates a sticky caramel sauce while baking.  My girls were standing in the kitchen sampling the apple filling. They said "ummmmm, it's really good Mommy!" Taylor brushed the crust with eggwash and sprinkled some brown sugar and cinnamon on top to make it golden brown and extra "cinnamony".

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
3 apples, cored and sliced thin
2 T flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T water

Eggwash:
1 egg
1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl, add the sliced apples and the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Unroll the pie dough and roll out to a 13-inch circle. Lay the pie dough in the center of the prepared baking sheet. Add the apple mixture to the center leaving a 3-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward the center, overlapping a bit, and pinch to seal around the entire circle. The center will be completely open. Make the egg wash by beating up an egg with a teaspoon of water.  Brush egg wash on the crust and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until pie dough is golden brown.  The filling may leak out a little while baking...that's ok.  It's a free form pie that will still taste delicious! If you have some caramel sauce in the fridge, drizzle some over top.  It makes it extra "caramely".  Enjoy!

Serve it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!