Happy Birthday, Pete!

Today is Dad's birthday! In honor of our favorite "Man of the Hour" (who absolutely LOVES apple pie), we will now highlight the final chapter of our Apple Pie Chronicles. 

Dutch Apple Pie (variation on page 321 of the BCC): Mom made a two-crust pie pastry, with extra large slits in the top. Then fill the pie with the standard ingredients of sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and apples, and bake. The reason you add the slits in the top is for the 1/2 cup of whipping cream you pour on top just 5 minutes before the pie is fully cooked. Stick the pie back in for 5 more minutes, and then serve it warm to Pete - or your own favorite guy. :)

The whipping cream really makes a difference! The creamy texture/consistency is what distinguishes a Dutch apple pie from the others. So now that our "Tour d' Apple Pie" is complete, which variation is your favorite? Please share your thoughts! And stay tuned for some exciting Christmas treats, coming soon!

What makes a pie special

Well, we told you we would bake through all the apple pie variations in the BCC, so here's another one - new to us, but quite delicious! 

Apple-Pecan Pie (variation of Apple Pie on p. 321 of the BCC): Follow the 10-inch pie recipe, but add in chopped pecans and 10 more minutes of baking time. The thing that makes this pie really special is the Crunchy Pecan Glaze on top, which is made up of brown sugar, copped pecans, and light cream cooked on low heat.  You spread this on top of the pie while it is still warm... soooooo good! 

Actually, the thing that really makes pie special and sweet is when you get to share it with dear friends. Mom's ladies Bible study came over last night - ladies who are some of Mom's best friends, and who are like family to me. They all enjoyed this dessert with coffee and fellowship, and Miss Ann said it was "Amazing!" Last night the ladies shared stories with each other about their faith and salvation. It is so beautiful, that because of the new life they all share in Christ, this special sisterhood can gather around the table to listen and pray, laugh and cry, and love and encourage one another.

"There's a happy feeling nothing in this world can buy..."

"...when we pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie..." Ok, so it isn't Christmas or Thanksgiving yet - goodness, it isn't even Halloween yet! - but Mom said that she was in the mood... and when the House Cook is in the mood, we don't argue, we just eat. :) Anyway, it is the time of year for all things pumpkin - pumpkin cake, muffins, bread, pancakes, cookies, cheesecakes, and don't forget chai and lattes... so why not indulge in the pièce de résistance, the timeless, classic pumpkin pie?  

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie (from p. 331 of the BCC): Of course, per tradition, Mom began with the homemade 9-inch one-crust pie from p. 316. Then she mixed up the pie filling, with 2 eggs, 2 cups of pumpkin, sugar, salt, evaporated milk, and the stuff that makes it truly marvelous: cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. After baking it, she served it, still warm, with a mound of whipped cream on top!

Would you like some cheese with your pie?

As promised, the apple pie extravaganza continues! For our third variation of the month, we did something the Chandler family has never done before: we put cheese in the middle. Yes, we thought it sounded weird, too, but hey we like cheese, so why not? As a family, we decided to adjust the recipe only slightly and use cheddar cheese instead of the recommended processed American cheese... 

Apple-Cheese Pie (from p. 321 of the BCC): We used the recipe for a regular 9-inch, two-crust apple pie, except that we poured half of the apple mixture into the pastry and covered it with five slices of cheddar cheese, then put the rest of the apple mixture on top. Then mom put the top crust on, and used a little fall-leaf cookie cutter to make this beautiful design on top: 

We loved the pie! We ate it on Kevan's last day with us here, and he took the leftover portions back to Fort Wayne with him, to eat all by himself, or perhaps share with his cool roommates. 

As we ate, we critiqued it. Of course, Dad reiterated that he has yet to meet a pie he doesn't like. However, we were all a little surprised that the cheddar didn't add as much flavor to the pie as we thought it would... we could barely detect it, so it really just tasted like a normal apple pie (which is never a negative thing). Kevan suggested that, while we're not huge fans of processed American cheese, maybe it would make the pie more creamy. Mom thought maybe we could put the cheese on the top instead of the middle, and I wondered why we couldn't put it in the middle and on top. We're open to suggestions about types of cheese, amounts and placement in the pie, so if you have any ideas, please send them to us! 

Regardless, the key to any amazing pie is the homemade crust... which you can read  all about here. :)

Fall festival pie

We had a Fall Festival at our church tonight, with giant Jenga and Kerplunk games, volleyball, soccer, corn holes, horseshoes, a photo booth, bonfires, marshmallows, chili, hotdogs, hot cider, and of course the famous TCF dessert spread. I'm telling you, our church really knows how to celebrate and fellowship well. It was a clear and crisp evening, and everyone who came had a great time together! And Mom made a classic BCC apple pie for the special occasion, with fancy lattice work and festive fall leaves on top. Doesn't it look fabulous?!

Apple Pie (from p. 321 of the BCC): Yes, for those of you who have been following for a while, we have indeed already made a French Apple Pie. But we Chandlers love apple pies and decided we should make every variety, so we are. This is the original version, 9-inch two-crust pie, and is filled with all things autumnally delicious: sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, and 6 cups of "thinly sliced pared tart apples."

I think the only thing better than the beautifully arranged pie you see above, is the empty dish we brought home from the festival, scraped clean by happy church families who thoroughly enjoyed every bite!

That Flaky-Bakey Crust

Well I was busy working in my room today and missed the baking of the French Apple Pie... but I heard Mom rolling out the dough, imagined her pinching the edges, smelled the warm cinnamon, and heard the apple filling bubble and sizzle. It felt like magic when it appeared on the table.

Standard Pastry (from p. 316 of the BCC): 
Mom made the 9" one-crust pie, meaning it doesn't have a crust on top. (I added that bit of info, because I actually didn't know that before today.) Here's another thing I never knew - do you know that when you pinch the rim of the dough and make it look so pretty and frilly, it's called "fluting"? People compliment Mom on this crust every time she makes it. It is not as easy as the pre-made stuff you can get in the store, but it is WAY better! So flaky and light... and Mom told me today that THIS is the pie crust recipe she has used for her entire married life.

French Apple Pie (from p. 321 of the BCC): 

Ok, if you open your BCC with me, you will find "Apple Pie" has several variations. We plan to make every variety eventually (except the Canned Apple Pie, on principle). But today we did the French, because it is Dad's favorite kind... though he will confess, "I've never met a pie I didn't like."

In this variation, you add a "Crumb Topping" (which is flour, butter,  and brown sugar), instead of just butter. The BCC adds the comment: "Best served warm," and we couldn't agree more. 

Dad had his slice a la mode, and with the first bite, he closed his eyes and said, "Mmmm..." Normally, if Mom asks him if something tastes good, he'll get a mischievous twinkle in his eye and say, "I don't know yet, I might need to try another piece." But today, Mom asked the question and he immediately said "Yes!" I think his own enthusiasm took him off guard, because after a pause, he added, "I don't need another piece to know this is good!"

37 years, and the recipe is still magical.