Topsy Turvy

"To appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air" ~ Henry David Thoreau

We are moving and I am busy packing, my entire household is topsy turvy, so what better time to post this Topsy Turvy Pie? I will be checking on everyone's blogs as often as I can, but this will be my last post for the next little while until we get settled in our new place.

Topsy Turvy Pie

Glaze:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
Pecan halves

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
6 apples, cored and sliced

In a pie pan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter, mix well. Spread evenly over bottom of pan and arrange pecans halves over top.

Prepare pastry for two-crust pie. Place bottom pastry over the mixture in bottom of pie pan. Press lightly to fit pan. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Arrange apple slices in pastry lined pan and sprinkle sugar mixture over top.

Place remaining pastry over top and fold edge under. Press and flute edges. Brush lightly with egg wash and cut slits in top.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 8 minutes. Turn oven to 325 degrees and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

**Using oven mitts, invert pie onto serving plate. Please be sure to use oven mitts, pie must be flipped hot out of the oven. Put your serving plate over top of pie and gently turn over.

Oatmeal Pie Crust Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter, cut in small bits
1 cup whole oats
6 to 8 Tbsp. cold water

Combine dry ingredients, cut in butter till mixture is crumbly. Add water and stir till dough comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Divide in half, roll each half out on a floured board.

Old Fashioned Peach Pie

"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort" ~ Norman Kolpas

This Old Fashioned Peach Pie is more like a cobbler because it has no crust.

Swedish Peach Pie

6 large peaches, sliced
Sugar
Cinnamon
3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp. salt

Slice peaches and place into a pie pan, sprinkle lightly with sugar and cinnamon. Combine the rest of ingredients and spoon over peaches. Dust batter lightly with sugar. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Granola-Apple Pie

"You cannot sell a blemished apple in the supermarket, but you can sell a tasteless one provided it is shiny, smooth, even, uniform and bright."

Elspeth Huxley

Which is why I wait in quiet anticipation for the first locally-grown apples to appear at the farmers markets and grocers. The Riggins of Willoughby Hills Apple Farm are back at the Coit Road Farmers Market and in celebration I baked a Granola-Apple Pie!

Granola-Apple Pie

Crust:

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 1/3 cup whole rolled oats
1 1/3 cup wheat germ
1 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
6 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
6 Tbsp. cold water

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add butter and water, stir gently. Divide in half, set one half aside. Press the other half into a buttered pie dish.

Filling:

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Combine sugar, cornstarch and spices and toss with apple slices.

Place apples into pie crust and crumble the other half of granola over top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and apples are tender.

An Apple A Day ...

This deep dish Country Apple Pie is my entry to the Art You Can Eat #3 Go Local blogging event. The Jonagold apples used in this recipe are from Bauman Orchards in Rittman, Ohio.

Country Apple Pie Recipe

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter
1 cup whole oats
6-8 Tbsp. cold water

Filling:

8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into small cubes

Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add oatmeal, sprinkle cold water evenly over mixture. Stir until thoroughly moistened. Shape into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for one hour.

Divide dough in half, roll out dough on lightly floured board. Place in pie plate. Add filling and top with remaining pastry dough. Fold edges under and flute. Cut slits in top crust.

Combine apples and lemon juice, add sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Spoon apple mixture into pie shell and dot with butter.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Note: Pie crust is adapted from "The Southern Living Cookbook"

Cran-Apple Pie

As most of you know by now I am "crust-challenged, but I have found a solution to my dilemma. Cookie Cutters ! Cranberries are in season, now is the time to buy for "now and later". I have a few bags tucked into the freezer, who says we can't eat cranberries year round ? Since I already had sliced apples in the freezer, this was a quick dessert.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cran-Apple Pie Recipe

4 cups fresh apples
2 cups fresh cranberries
3/4 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. flour

Combine apples and cranberries in a large bowl, toss with sugar and flour and set aside.

Pie Crust Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
6 Tbsp. cold water

Combine flour and salt, cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Add water and mix well. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured board roll out dough about 12 inches round. Roll up pastry on rolling pin and roll out into pie plate. Roll out second piece of dough and cut out shapes.

Pour fruit into pie shell and place cut-outs on top, sealing at edges. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 45-50 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and fruit is tender.

Cranberry-Pear Pie

I love this pie because you don't have to worry about making that perfect pie crust. Which works out well for me since although I make a tasty crust, I am inept in making those pretty scalloped edges :)

Cranberry-Pear Pie Recipe

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a deep dish pie pan.

Ingredients:

Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1 large egg
5 Tbsp. cold water

Mix flour and sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter, until mixture is crumbly. Separate egg, setting egg white to one side. Mix egg yolk and water together, add to dough and stir with a fork.















Transfer dough to a well floured board and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20-30 minutes.

Pie Filling:

6 Pears
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. cornstarch















While dough is chilling, peel, core and cut up pears. Mix pears, cranberries, lemon juice, sugar, ginger and cornstarch in large bowl.
Set aside.















Remove dough from refrigerator, roll out on well-floured board in a large uneven circle, making sure it is at least 4 inches larger than pie dish.















Transfer dough to pie pan, with crust overlapping dish. Pour fruit mixture into crust and dot with 2 Tbsp. of butter, cut into small pieces















Bring the edges of the dough over the fruit leaving an opening in center. Remember that egg white ? Mix the egg white with a couple of Tbsp. of water and brush onto the crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, lower heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes until filling is tender and crust is a golden brown.















Options: Sprinkle finished pie with powdered sugar, or serve with whip cream or ice cream.