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Apple streusel pie and a giveaway

A show of hands: who here loves streusel topping? Yes, me too. I love streusel topping and find it to be the best part about crumb cakes, muffins and other baked goods. There is no such thing as too much streusel in my mind. When I came across an apple pie with streusel topping from my America's Best Harvest Pies cookbook, I giggled with glee. I immediately showed my husband the recipe, and he requested that I bake the pie right away, so I did.

This apple pie was very easy to put together. I halved the crust recipe below so I didn't have any extra crust laying around. Since I don't eat nuts, I omitted the top layer with the pecans and caramel sauce, but you should definitely try the recipe as it is written. The crust was nice and flaky, and the filling tasted like a classic apple pie with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. The streusel topping, of course, was the best part. I piled on the streusel and was in pie heaven. This apple pie recipe is sure to stay, and it's officially made the list as one of the best apple pies my husband has ever eaten. This is an award-winning pie, after all.

In fact, every recipe in the America's Best Harvest Pies cookbook features an award-winning pie from across the nation. There are entire chapters dedicated to apple pie, fruit pies and pumpkin pies. I asked my husband which pie he would want to try next, and I think he named every single one. I'm pretty sure one of the peanut butter ones caught his eye first, so that might be next up on my pie list.

And now onto the giveaway... One of you will win not one, but TWO cookbooks! You will receive a copy of America's Best Harvest Pies and one copy of Lick the Bowl Good (I will be featuring a recipe from Lick the Bowl Good in a future post). Simply enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Be patient since sometimes the widget is slow to load. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apple streusel pie
Crust (I halved the crust recipe below so I wouldn't have extras)
  • 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup Crisco shortening (I substituted with cold, unsalted butter)
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP ice water
Filling
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 medium Braeburn or sweet/tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
Crumb topping
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I used light, but you can use dark
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter
Caramel pecan finish (Since I don't eat nuts, I omitted this completely)
  • 1/4 cup caramel topping (like Smucker's)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
For the crust: Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the cold shortening/butte until the mixture resembles wet sand and you get small lumps the size of peas.. Slowly add the ice water and continue to mix (with a fork, you pastry cutter or even a sturdy spatula) until it is fully incorporated. The dough should form a ball when you press it together. Add more water if your mixture is too dry. Cover in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Once the crust is cooled, either lightly flour a clean working surface or spread a piece of parchment paper on a flat working surface. Place the chilled crust on the flat surface and cover with another piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 11 or 12 inch circle. It needs to be big enough to cover your pie plate. Transfer the crust to your pie plate and gently press it into the plate. Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.


For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, flour and salt until the mixture is uniform. Add the sliced apples and toss to combine. Drizzle the lemon juice over the sliced apples and mix well. Pour the apple filling onto the prepared (unbaked) pie crust.

For the crumb topping: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sugar, flour, oats and salt. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the cold butter until the mixture contains small, pea-sized lumps. Spoon and gently press the crumb topping on top of the apple filling.

Bake the pie at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking for another 60 minutes (I baked mine for 50 minutes). If needed, you may protect the pie edges with aluminum foil or a crust protector. You may also need to tent the pie with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes of baking if your pie is getting too dark.

Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

For the caramel-pecan finish: When the pie has cooled slightly, heat up the caramel topping (either in the microwave or on the stove). Drizzle half of the caramel topping over the pie, then add the pecans. Drizzle the remaining half of the caramel topping on top.

The pie is best when served warm (with a generous scoop of ice cream) but can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. You can either reheat it in the microwave or serve it cold.

Yield: One 10-inch pie, about 10-12 slices.

Source: America's Best Harvest Pies, pages 16-17

Photobucket
A show of hands: who here loves streusel topping? Yes, me too. I love streusel topping and find it to be the best part about crumb cakes, muffins and other baked goods. There is no such thing as too much streusel in my mind. When I came across an apple pie with streusel topping from my America's Best Harvest Pies cookbook, I giggled with glee. I immediately showed my husband the recipe, and he requested that I bake the pie right away, so I did.

This apple pie was very easy to put together. I halved the crust recipe below so I didn't have any extra crust laying around. Since I don't eat nuts, I omitted the top layer with the pecans and caramel sauce, but you should definitely try the recipe as it is written. The crust was nice and flaky, and the filling tasted like a classic apple pie with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. The streusel topping, of course, was the best part. I piled on the streusel and was in pie heaven. This apple pie recipe is sure to stay, and it's officially made the list as one of the best apple pies my husband has ever eaten. This is an award-winning pie, after all.

In fact, every recipe in the America's Best Harvest Pies cookbook features an award-winning pie from across the nation. There are entire chapters dedicated to apple pie, fruit pies and pumpkin pies. I asked my husband which pie he would want to try next, and I think he named every single one. I'm pretty sure one of the peanut butter ones caught his eye first, so that might be next up on my pie list.

And now onto the giveaway... One of you will win not one, but TWO cookbooks! You will receive a copy of America's Best Harvest Pies and one copy of Lick the Bowl Good (I will be featuring a recipe from Lick the Bowl Good in a future post). Simply enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Be patient since sometimes the widget is slow to load. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apple streusel pie
Crust (I halved the crust recipe below so I wouldn't have extras)
  • 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup Crisco shortening (I substituted with cold, unsalted butter)
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 TBSP ice water
Filling
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 medium Braeburn or sweet/tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
Crumb topping
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I used light, but you can use dark
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter
Caramel pecan finish (Since I don't eat nuts, I omitted this completely)
  • 1/4 cup caramel topping (like Smucker's)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
For the crust: Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the cold shortening/butte until the mixture resembles wet sand and you get small lumps the size of peas.. Slowly add the ice water and continue to mix (with a fork, you pastry cutter or even a sturdy spatula) until it is fully incorporated. The dough should form a ball when you press it together. Add more water if your mixture is too dry. Cover in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Once the crust is cooled, either lightly flour a clean working surface or spread a piece of parchment paper on a flat working surface. Place the chilled crust on the flat surface and cover with another piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 11 or 12 inch circle. It needs to be big enough to cover your pie plate. Transfer the crust to your pie plate and gently press it into the plate. Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.


For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, flour and salt until the mixture is uniform. Add the sliced apples and toss to combine. Drizzle the lemon juice over the sliced apples and mix well. Pour the apple filling onto the prepared (unbaked) pie crust.

For the crumb topping: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sugar, flour, oats and salt. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the cold butter until the mixture contains small, pea-sized lumps. Spoon and gently press the crumb topping on top of the apple filling.

Bake the pie at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking for another 60 minutes (I baked mine for 50 minutes). If needed, you may protect the pie edges with aluminum foil or a crust protector. You may also need to tent the pie with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes of baking if your pie is getting too dark.

Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

For the caramel-pecan finish: When the pie has cooled slightly, heat up the caramel topping (either in the microwave or on the stove). Drizzle half of the caramel topping over the pie, then add the pecans. Drizzle the remaining half of the caramel topping on top.

The pie is best when served warm (with a generous scoop of ice cream) but can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. You can either reheat it in the microwave or serve it cold.

Yield: One 10-inch pie, about 10-12 slices.

Source: America's Best Harvest Pies, pages 16-17

Photobucket

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