Topsy-Turvy Apple Pie

Well, it's that time of year. Yes, time to take the kids apple and pumpkin picking....again. My pumpkins have been sitting on the porch for at least a week and a half (yet to be carved) and there were three bags of apples sitting in my house, staring at me, for just as long.

"You gonna do something with those apples?" from dear hubby Jim, led me on a search for a pie recipe. Not just any pie recipe, mind you, but a special pie recipe...beacuse, I mean, really. Who wants ordinary ole Apple Pie? Ok, fine...I do. But this one just looked SO good, I couldn't pass. (And it totally came out yummy, so I felt justified.)

Topsy-Turvy Apple Pie (from Pillsbury)

(Yea, I know....it's upside down. Isn't that so cool?! And delicious.)

Prep Time: 45 Min

Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Min

Makes: 8 servings (HA...oh, sorry.)

 

INGREDIENTS

Glaze and Crust

 

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1/2 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® pecan halves

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

 

Filling

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (4 medium)

 

Topping

Whipped cream, optional

 

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 425°F. In 9-inch glass pie plate, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Spread evenly in bottom of pie plate. Arrange pecans over mixture. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, placing bottom crust over mixture in pan.

(You know I doubled it, right? Ok...just checking.)

• In small bowl, mix granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon. Arrange half of apple slices n crust-lined pie plate. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining apple slices and sugar mixture. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

• Place pie on sheet of foil on middle oven rack in oven; bake 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 35 to 45 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Immediately run knife around edge of pie to loosen. Place serving plate upside down over pie; turn serving plate and pie plate over. Remove pie plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.

Of course I know it's on a Christmas tray, but that was the only thing I had that was big enough to turn it out on (it's close enough to Christmas....leave me alone). It was delicious, and so easy to make. Definately adding this to the Fall menu, but I wouldn't recommend this being one of your regular "make-ahead-and-freeze" pies...because I do that every year, too. Oh, and (at lease for the first piece) it's definately a must-eat-warm pie. With whipped cream. Yes...whipped cream. I'm going to go have a piece of pie now.
Enjoy....

Talk yo you soon,

Laura

SuperMom

Honey Maple Cookies

Ok, so I decided to be a good mom today and baked some cookies for the boys.
No...I said for the boys.
Ok, fine...I made them for myself too, but that's called "Quality Control", people.
I got really excited when I came across this recipe on Taste of Home (an awesome website, where I find a lot of the recipes that I completely fall in love with), because it had two of my favorite ingredients: honey and maple syrup. The honey and maple flavors really compliment each other well, and the maple just puts a really nice Fall kind of spin on just plain'ole, regular chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat shortening until light and fluffy. Add honey and syrup, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture will appear curdled). Beat in vanilla.

Here's what THAT looks like, lol. (And it does have a bit of a curdled texture.)

• Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to honey mixture and mix just until moistened.

• Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.

• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.

• Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

• Remove to wire racks. Yield: 5 dozen. 

I'd say be careful about your spacing, because these tend to be one of the flatter cookies, and depending on your oven, adjust your cooking time accordingly. If you would like them a little chewy (as do I), take them out just a little on the early side and they are absolutely perfect. Excellent for lunch boxes and after school snacks alike (...and night-time snacks, after the kids go to bed, too!). I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. If you happen to try them, please feel free to post in the comments below. Happy Baking!!!

P.S. - This also happens to be one of those fabulous cookie recipes that doesn't include raw eggs...which makes it perfect for leaving some in the bottom of the bowl (not too much), and letting the little ones lick it clean. They think it's awesome...and who doesn't like cookie dough. I mean, c'mon...they dedicated a whole ice cream flavor to it. That is a testimony to it's awesomeness. True story. Seriously.

Talk yo you soon,

Laura

SuperMom

First Impressions...

Well, let me start off by telling you that my very first post is coming from my Blackberry, because that's how I roll. (Actually, my husband, Jim, has laid a poker smack down on the desktop, but you know...) So anyway, I guess I should say something about myself to start off, being my very first post and all. I gotta tell you, I really have no idea what I'm doing...but with any luck, we'll figure this all out together.
I don't really know much about blogs. I've seen "Julie and Julia," and I subscribe to "Joy the Baker" (I'll be sure to post the link later...when I get my computer back, lol), but I've toyed with the idea for a while. I read as much as I can (I have an insatiable love for romance novels - mostly western and historical - but I kinda have a thing for vampires, too). Yes, I said vampires...enter shameless Twilight plug here, and a shout-out to all my fellow Twi-Hards. I love to cook, frequently trying new recipes (both things I throw together, and ones internet-found). This is where I tell my family (my wonderful, loving husband, Jim...and our two boys, lil Jim, 9, and Adam, almost 4) how much I appreciate them being my guinea pigs, buts let's be honest...what choice do they really have, lol. Oh, and I've been known to be pretty crafty from time to time...so I may have some posts about that thrown in there, too.
*Whew*
You'd be surprised at how difficult this is to do from a phone, with a teeny tiny screen and itty bitty letters, lol. So if there are grammatical errors or spelling blunders...I apologize now.
In closing, I guess I'll leave you with this...
I'm just a mom, trying to be SuperMom. I make mistakes. I lose it from time to time. But at the end of the day, regardless of what has gone right, and wrong...I love my family. And I hope in taking this journey with me, you will, too.

Talk to you soon,
Laura
SuperMom

(*Here is the Joy the Baker link I mentioned. It apparently looks like the best time of day for me to stealie the computer is the butt crack of dawn, when half the house is still asleep, lol. Anyway....enjoy.)