Grammy's Apple Pie

A couple days ago we went to the apple orchard, and I bought a large bag of Melrose apples.  I never heard of Melrose apples before, but I asked the sales lady to recommend a good baking apple, and she gave me a slice of that apple to taste.  Heaven!  It was so yummy!  I was only going to get a small bag, but changed my mind and got a large bag.

The way they do it, they have all kinds of apples in bushel baskets, and you just walk up and ask for whatever you want, they give you a taste, and if you want it they bag it.  When I asked for a large bag, she packed so many apples in there I could barely carry it.  I'm guessing it weighed at least 15 pounds.

Although I had made a Dutch apple pie last week, I couldn't wait to try another apple pie.  My son used a bunch of them to make crockpot apple butter, but I haven't tried that yet.  And of course I can't eat this pie, because of the crust, but all my apple pie eaters declared this pie a winner!  It looks and smells delicious.

I used packaged Pillsbury pie crusts, because I was afraid to mess up the crust with these good apples!  I figure Pillsbury probably has it figured out pretty well by now!  And everyone liked it, so there you go!

I am definitely going to try one of these with a gluten free pie crust, but for now, here is the recipe I used to make this one:

For a printable copy, please click HERE. 

I think you'll like this pie if you make one!  Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you'll be in Apple Heaven!

Here are some of the places I am linking up to:
Mix It Up Monday at Flour Me With Love
Meal Plan Monday at Southern Bite

To see the other places I share recipes and crafts, please click HERE.

And don't forget to check out my Pinterest boards!  Click on the link at the top of the sidebar to see my boards.  I am a huge Pinterest fan!

No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake Pie

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  We enjoyed ours, and due to a last minute change in plans, I had to come up with a quick dessert to take to a picnic.

I only had about 5 hours notice, and it was SO. HOT. I couldn't think of baking anything!  I took a quick look in my pantry, and thankfully I had stocked up on pre-made graham cracker crusts.  I decided a cream pie would be quick, and as I checked my canned pie fillings, I saw a can of Key Lime Crème pie filling I had bought last month.  I always make my own Key Lime pie filling, but I had never seen it in a can before!  So into the cart it went, because I was curious to see if it was any good.  It is made by Duncan Hines, and I got mine at Meier.  

I only had 1 can, so I knew I had to add something else.  I always keep cream cheese in the fridge, so I took 2 pkgs. out, and was debating how to make a key lime cheesecake filling when I spotted a few cans of sweetened condensed milk in the pantry.  Voila!  The dessert was born!  I pulled a tub of Cool Whip out of the freezer, and an hour later was ready to assemble the pie.

There was a lot of filling, and you can't really tell from the picture, but I mounded it all up nice and high like a Mile High Pie!  It was nice and thick and creamy - and I saved the last little bit for me to sample.  The crust wasn't gluten free, but the filling was, and it was quite delicious!

It only took a few minutes to mix up, and I put it right in the fridge to set.  I like creamy pies to set up nicely, and not run when you slice it.  In fact, I like all my pies that way!  Too much juice just makes a soggy mess!  So I was hoping it would set up nice and firm, and it did!

Here is a fresh slice of pie, and look how creamy and yummy it looks!  Everyone loved it!  It had a nice hint of lime, not as much as a regular key lime pie, but still you could definitely taste it.  It was cold, creamy, and very refreshing!  I think you will like it!  And it couldn't be much easier to whip up!

Here is the recipe:

For a printable version, please click HERE.

I am linking this up to Meal Plan Monday #129 at Southern Bite.

For more ideas on what to serve this week, check out my Weekly Menu Plans.  Click HERE to see this week's menu plan.  Hope you find something you like!

Cherry Crisp Pie

Today was a great day for making snow angels....or for staying inside for some baking and sewing, which is what I chose to do.  To me, snow looks prettier from INSIDE my kitchen!

Now I know I had Pineapple Upside Down Cake on my menu plan today, but.....for some reason I never made this Cherry Crisp I had intended to make a couple weeks ago on January 3rd.  I was wanting something quick and easy to make this morning, so I could get some sewing done.  So I made an executive decision and Cherry Crisp Pie was in the oven before I even ate breakfast!

The original recipe came from Julie's Eats and Treats.  She called it Cherry Crunch Pie or Cherry Crumble Pie.  For some reason, I kept thinking of it as Cherry Crisp Pie by mistake, and that name has been branded on my brain.  But Julie's Eats and Treats is where it came from!

I only changed a couple things.  I made it gluten free, and added a sprinkle of brown sugar and an extra can of cherry pie filling.  I also baked it at 375 degrees because my oven tends to run a bit cold. My husband loved it warm from the oven, with some vanilla ice cream on top.  I like mine cold, so I refrigerated some for me and it was so good!

Here it is fresh from the oven:

Here is how I made it:

Cherry Crisp Pie

1 stick of butter, (1/2 cup), room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup quick oats (I used gluten free oats)

2 cans cherry pie filling
1/4 cup brown sugar

1.  Mix the butter, 1 cup brown sugar, flour, and oats in a medium sized bowl. (I used a wooden spoon to mix it together). 

2.  Pour at least 1/2 of that mixture into a pie plate, and press with a wooden spoon to cover the bottom and sides of the pan.  I used maybe 2/3 of the mixture, because I wanted a sturdy bottom crust.  There was plenty left for the topping.

3.  Pour the 2 cans of cherry pie filling into the crust. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the top of the cherries.

4.  Sprinkle the remaining oat/flour mixture over the top of the pie filling.

5.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned and crunchy.

We both enjoyed this after dinner with a nice cup of hot chocolate!

Dutch Apple Pie

Today was a gorgeous fall day here, perfect for baking.  I haven't made a pie in awhile, and today it just felt like an apple pie kind of day. 

This is really a very simple pie to make, and the streusel topping is such a nice addition to the warm apples.  Serve it warm, with some really good vanilla or French vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!

Dutch Apple Pie

1 packaged pie crust, or use your favorite pie crust recipe

6 cups sliced peeled apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon apple pie spice

Topping:

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1.  Place pie crust in a deep dish pie plate.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and apple pie spice.

3.  Pile the apple mixture into the pie plate, distributing it evenly.

4.  Prepare the topping:  In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and brown sugar.  Slice the butter into small chunks and add it to the bowl.  Using a fork, blend the ingredients until you have small pea-sized chunks.

5.  Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the apples.

6.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 1 hour, or until the top is nicely browned.

Let the pie cool for at least an hour before serving.