In the end, I was daunted by apple pie.
Because I can't cheat. By dint of the way I was raised, I can't go out and buy a pre-made crust, or apple pie stuff in a can, and call that a pie. I am bound by duty to make a pie dough by hand, bound by honor to peel and core a bag of apples and slice them just so, and soak the raisins in brandy. Bound by history to lovingly assemble all of this into a perfect, home-made pie.
Because if I don't, who will? Where's the love in a store-bought frozen pie?
But in the end, it was just too much. So I took the apple crisp route.
Apple crisp is apple pie for cheaters. So easy even I can do it well, and you know that's saying a lot.
Since I had two bags of Granny Smith apples, I was able to make two versions of apple crisp. The first came from my trusty Joy of Cooking.
4 cups tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I added a few squeezes of lemon juice to keep them from browning)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter, otherwise omit)
1 tsp cinnamon
Work the dry ingredients and the butter lightly until you have a crumbly mix. Spread over the apples in a pie pan. Bake about 30 minutes.
I took this to my mom's Thanksgiving dinner. There was none left at the end of the evening. And the compliments were many and heartfelt.
With the second bag of apples,I tried my friend Beth's recipe.
Apple Crisp - Beth's Aunt's way:
6 apples peeled and cored and sliced
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
mix these together first
add 1 egg and mix, will be kind of dry and lumpy
spread apples in pan, cover with mixture.
melt 1/2 cup butter and pour over top and sprinkle with cinnamon
bake 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. (Top should be cake like, not mushy)
And the winner? Both were delicious. Both were consumed. But the enthusiasm factor went...to Beth's Aunt's Crisp.
The kids inhaled their dinner because I'd made it clear they would not get any crisp otherwise. Then they fought over the spatula. THEN they ran back for seconds.
Yes, and I agree, it was that good. Both make bonus points for making the kitchen smell like a home.
Try either of these and let me know what you think.