Deep Dish Apple Crumb Crunch Pie

A few years ago I asked dear son what he wanted for dessert on his birthday. Pie. Apple pie to be exact. But not a normal one. Couldn't I make some kind of pie that has apples and is creamy? Then the Sicilian king of food textures says, how about some crunch to it?! The result is below, and has to be made for someone's birthday yearly now.

Deep Dish Apple Crumb Crunch Pie

2 pie crusts worth of dough
One can apple pie filling
1/4 cup granola
6 small green& red apples
Cinnamon 2 tsp
Flour 4 tbsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
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1/2 cup flour
Stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
A can Eagle brand
2 eggs
1/4 cup small granola (bottom of the bag)
Vanilla 1 tsp
Almond extract 1/2 tsp
Small bag 1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Set Oven at 425. Put the rack on bottom.

Line a 8x11 casserole with crust, trim and edge.

Pour pie filling in the crust and spread around.

Peel and slice apples and mix with flour, sugar, 1/4 cup granola and cinnamon. Put in pan. Bake for 15 min.

Apart, melt 1/4 cup butter. Off heat add eagle brand, vanilla, almond extract and eggs. Mix well. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar and 1/2 cup flour, then cut in the other 1/4 cup butter till crumbly and mix in last bit of the granola.


When the pie is out of oven, sprinkle the raisins over, and
pour the milk egg mixture over the top filling in the cracks. With foil you'll need to cover the crust edge as it'll be getting browned already. Lower oven to 375.

Top pie with the crumb mixture, then sprinkle with slivered almonds and bake at 375 for 30 min.

Serve warm with vanilla Ice cream. Preferably Bluebell Homemade, or REAL homemade. Store in fridge.

Notes: if you buy crusts and try to unite them to fill your pan, be sure and keep crust the same single thickness throughout. Don't double anywhere as it'll end up gooey and dry.
 ***We made this on a Monday, and we ate half the dish.  The rest went in the fridge.  Wednesday afternoon dear son calls me and says, "Mom, we DO have pie left, right?"..."Son, it's been two days.  Of course we don't."...(silence)..."YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!...SERIOUSLY???...THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!..." the expressions of disappointment and disillusionment continued for a few minutes until the sad realization that nothing was to be done sank in.  Poor kid.  May have to make another one...

Crumb Topped Cherry Pie

My nanny was the oldest girl of 14 kids. When she was 9 she started cooking. And didn't stop. Except for cake. Dessert in her home meant pie. Lots of pie. She typically made 4-6 pies at a time. Want pie? Sure thing honey. Want 2 coconut cream, 2 cherry and 2 lemon? How about 2 chocolate and 2 buttermilk? And since she only had three kids of her own, after school snack meant a pie plate and fork. Yes, the whole pie. Eat till you're full. Ah youth.

This cherry pie is wonderful. Have to use sour cherries to get the right flavor. It's not a hard pie and doesn't take a long time to make, but has to bake awhile. Great out of the oven with vanilla ice cream but wow, even better the next day out of the fridge. Like really wow. Tried to get a pretty pic of that pie, but the knife was too fast for me!

Line the bottom of your oven with some foil. You'll thank me. Then preheat to 425.

Mix:
1 1/2 c sugar
5 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt

Blend in
1 tbsp soft butter

Drain (Saving juice!!)
2 cans sour pitted cherries

Add 1/2 cup of that juice to the mix and then 3 cups of cherries (There are always a few extras left. I just dump in them all...or eat them).

Add 8-10 drops red food color if desired. Let all this stand while you make a pie crust. Your recipe probably makes 2 though. You can wrap the second ball of dough in plastic wrap, then ziploc and freeze. Put the shell in a 9" pie plate.
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Pour your cherry filling in the pie plate.

Now sift together
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c flour
And cut in 1/3 c cold butter till crumbly. You can use a pastry blender or two knives crisscrossing each other, or smush it quickly with your fingers. Needs to be crumbly and cold. If it gets warm stick back in the fridge to chill.
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Take strips of foil or a crust protector and wrap around the pie crust edge. Then top the pie with your crumb topping, piling it on to the edge.
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Bake for 35 minutes, remove the edge foil and bake another 5 min. Soooo good!

*Just a note on canned cherries. It's a good idea to (with clean hands) gently squeeze the cherries randomly before you put them in the filling. You're checking for pits. There will be a pit about every 4-5 cans and that's no fun to bite down on when you're enjoying this wonderful pie.

La Crostata: quick traditional Italian dessert

This dessert removes any excuse you had for not cooking. So easy. Ingredients you always keep on hand. Quick. Yummy.
So I apologize for that.

Preheat oven to 375.
Line a 9" round cake pan with aluminum foil or parchment so it sticks out on four corners--- easier to remove your confection to place on a plate and serve with coffee!

Mash in a bowl with a fork, a stick of butter and 100 grams of sugar. Just weigh it. Grate fine or zest some lemon rind (don't get the white part) and add. Mix in an egg. Add 1 3/4 cup flour and mix in.
Dump out on a floured counter and roll out. It'll stick to the pin and counter. Just flour the pin. It should remind you of sugar cookie dough. When it's about double a pie crust's thickness, stop. Using a knife cut a circle 1" larger than the base of your cake pan. (set it on top.)
Use a spatula to scrape under the circle and roll it up on the pin to transfer to the cake pan. Press in and up sides about 3/4".
Take 1/3 cup of preserves or jam, add a spoon of water or two and mix to make a tad runny. Pour onto crust.
Now use the extra dough to make a lattice, make hearts, whatever. Paint with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake till golden, about 35 min.

In all it shouldn't take more than 15 min to get in the oven. By end of dinner it's ready.

Raspberry, apricot, and cherry are common. Or use nutella, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. YUM.

No excuses for buying dessert. Make it girl!! :)
Buon appetito!