Caramel Apple Pie

Is there anything more perfect in the world than apple pie?

Nope. Don’t think so.

Well, maybe this apple pie. I had seen a recipe for a caramel apple pie probably 25 years ago. It had caramel only on the inside. I thought it was the most decadent thing I had ever tasted.

As the years progressed the thought of having my pie taste more like, and look more like, a carnival caramel apple began  plaguing me. It was very much like Brisbane for the Little Rascals, but instead of “learn that poem, learn that poem’, it was, make that caramel, make that caramel.

After a number of – albeit delicious and fattening – mistakes, this pie is what has resulted.

I hope you give it a try and I hope you like it!

• 6 apples
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 T butter (room temperature)
• 2 T flour
• 1/3 C dark corn syrup

NOTE: I am not loyal to any particular type of apple. I usually try and use 2 ~ one a little tart and one a little sweet.  It should be an apple that holds up well when baking.

Preheat oven to 425

Peel, core and slice apples and place in a 9″ deep dish pie shell.

Combine next 6 ingredients and pour over apples.

Put on top crust. Crimp and slit to let out steam. Bake for 40 minutes.

NOTE: Crimp the edges high so that the caramel topping will have a place to rest and not slide off. I would bake on a baking sheet. This pie has a tendency to be very messy!

While baking, combine the caramel topping:

• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 2 T flour
• 2 T butter (room temperature)
• 1/4 C dark corn syrup

After 40 minutes, remove pie from oven and pour the caramel mixture above over top of pie. Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes.

Pecan Pie

Stuck.

Blocked.

Bored.

Uninspired.

Dislike cooking (can that possibly be!?).

Stuck, blocked, bored, and seriously challenged by my iMac.

I miss my PC.

Once you get out of the habit of sitting down and writing, it is SOOOOooooOOOOO hard to sit back down again and write.

The drill for resizing and reformatting my photos is becoming a nightmare.

And now that I haven’t posted in a month (GASP!), will anyone out there still read? Has anyone noticed my being MIK (Missing in Kitchen)? This is the chance I must take, so here we go!

Every year, usually the weekend before Thanksgiving, my foodie friends and I gather at my house for Friends’ Thanksgiving. Friends’ Thanksgiving is a time honored tradition in my family and always a lot of fun (you get to spend Thanksgiving with the family you have chosen, and not necessarily the ones you are stuck with – and no Mom I am not talking about you!).

As we’ve branched out on our own, we each do our Friend’s Thanksgiving a little differently.  In my house, because my friends all love to cook, the turkey, stuffing and gravy are on me, and the friends bring everything else.

This year I also made cranberry sauce and 2 pies that everyone always asks for – one of which is this pecan pie.

If I do say so myself, this is the BEST pecan pie ever!

Although I always make this in a 9″ deep dish pie shell, and did just that for Friends’ Thanksgiving, I became a little adventurous for ‘real’ Thanksgiving and made them in mini – at the end of this I will explain the mini debacle.

This recipe is very simple and has a really delicious result! I know my Mom gave me this recipe, where she came across it is one of those things that is lost in the recesses of my aging brain.

Preheat oven to 350.

• 4 eggs
• 1 C sugar
• 1 C light corn syrup
• 1/2 T flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 C butter (melted)
• 2 C pecans

NOTE:Being part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program has its perks. I was asked to try Land O’ Lakes eggs in a recipe and used them in this recipe!

Beat eggs.

Add next 5 ingredients, mix well.

Stir in melted butter and pecans.

Pour into pie shell.

NOTE: Those of you who USED to read my blog know that I am totally pie crust phobic. I used Pillsbury Pie Crust. PERFECT and less work.

Bake for 60 minutes.

NOTE: I add a pie shield or aluminum foil on the crust about halfway through so the crust doesn’t incinerate.

NOTE: So making minis … I know I had mini pie tins. I KNOW I DID. They chose to hide when I needed them. Probably sitting in the back of a cabinet LAUGHING at me searching for them. What is a girl to do? I searched the supermarket for a solution – and there it was, mini graham cracker crust shells. I scraped out the graham cracker and cut the pie dough a little larger than the tin. I made a HALF batch of the filling and poured it into the little tins. They baked in about 30 minutes.  I was worried about there not being enough ‘goo’ and too many pecans, but I was told they were really yummy!

For those of you still out there, thank you for being patient! It’s nice to be back!

Top Hats

I am very late to the Pioneer Woman bandwagon. Not sure why. I love her recipes and style of cooking. Might have to do with my general aversion to blogs for such a long time. I still find it amazing when I look at my stats each day that people actually stop by here and read my blog!

Anywho … I was gently lulled into my affection for the Pioneer Woman.  Watching her one morning on the Food Network she made Egg in a Hole. This recipe opened the flood gates of memories for me. My Aunt used to make this for me when I was little. She called them Top Hats. It has always been one of my absolute favorite breakfasts. So comforting.

Thank you Ree for reminding me of this childhood favorite.  This was included in The Pioneer Woman Cooks – don’t have it? Get it! There are some great recipes in here!

Breakfast doesn’t get easier than this. Whether you call this Egg in a Hole or Top Hats or Bird’s Nests, make them! They will quickly become a favorite of your family!

• 1 slice of your favorite kind of bread
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• dash of tabasco (optional)

With a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, cut a hole in the center of the slice of bread. This disk forms the “hat” part.

 

Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt in the butter. When the butter is melted, place the piece of bread and the hat in the skillet. As the bread and hat begin to turn golden brown, crack the egg into the center of the hole. Salt, pepper, a dash of tabasco, if using.

 

Cook until the egg sets a bit on the bottom, about a minute.  After the minute, flip it over with a spatula and salt and pepper the other side.

Move the whole piece of toast and the hat around the skillet, soaking up all of the butter. Let cook until the yolk still feels soft.

YUM! And don’t let anyone steal your hat! That’s the best part!