People's Choice (Caramel Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel Topping)

This recipe is a labor of love. I say that because it has come about over several years of trying, testing, tweaking, and changing. This is one of those rare recipes that I feel like I can say is mine. This is the first time I have written it down, usually I just make it from my head.

We like apple pie. We like streusel topping, and we like caramel. So, naturally, this pie would become a favorite. It is for people like me, who just aren't crazy about fruit pies. The apples are not too soggy, not to crisp; the short, buttery crust is plentiful; the walnut streusel topping helps those of us who are not super confident about pie crust make something anyway. And the caramel sauce. You don't need it because the brown sugar and butter give the illusion of caramel, but if you are like me, and you just like to take things way, way, way over the top, drizzle some on top when you are done. Then pass it around with spoons or in a squeeze bottle for lucky souls to pour on top of their fresh-from-the-oven pie crowned with melting vanilla bean ice cream.

This is another recipe for the archives. You won't make an apple pie every day, but when you do, you want it to be worth the effort. This is. This is the pie you can take to your mother-in-law's on Thanksgiving, or make it in a baking dish and take it to the office pot luck. It will be welcome, you will be applauded. And its pretty darn easy. But don't tell them that. Just smile and slip into the role of domestic goddess.

Caramel Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel Topping

Pie crust

2 1/4 cups flour

1 Tablespoon sugar (omit for savory crust)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 Tablespoons (or more)  ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter, using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 Tablespoons water. Using on/off turns, blend just until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide dough in half. Flatten each piece into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

Apple filling

9 apples
1Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 stick butter cut into pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour

Walnut Streusel Topping

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt

The way I usually make this recipe is I start the crust early in the day or even a day or two before. I put it into the fridge until I am going to use it. Also, if I know I am going to make an apple pie, I usually divide the dough unevenly. I put about 2/3 of the crust aside for the bottom, and the remaining 1/3 aside for cutting out decorative leaves and things for the top.
Then, I make the walnut streusel topping. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process in on/off turns until the walnuts are broken down and in very small pieces. Set aside.
Peel apples and cut each half into three slices. Cut out the center core. Place apple slices in a row and cut into three or four chunks. Place into large pot. Repeat with remaining apples. Add the pumpkin pie spice, butter, brown sugar, and flour. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until apples are just tender.
Preheat the oven to 375.
Roll out your larger pie crust and place in the bottom of your baking dish. Pour in apple filling, then top with the streusel. Use the other pie crust if you wish to decorate the top with cut out leaves, etc.
Brush any decorative pie crust pieces with a mixture of egg and water (1 egg, 2 Tbsp water). Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until crust is a deep gold color.

If  you desire, which you will, top with caramel sauce.

Easy Morning

It feels like I haven't blogged in forever! I know it hasn't been that long, but it seems like it, and I am afraid you are going to have to put up with me being a bit wordy. I have so many things I want to write about...new recipes, old recipes, recipes I had forgotten about and recipes I really, really want to share. We have moved, and while we were getting settled into our new place we were without the Internet. So, instead of checking every body's facebook status or watching Netflix, I have been reading cookbooks and writing out recipes. I have a lot of recipes. Since we last talked I made a delicious chocolate cake, perfected my fried rice, made egg rolls, made lasagna for the first time, found all my long-lost recipes and saved them forever in cyberspace, tweaked a potato recipe, re-discovered a chicken recipe, convinced my 5-year old that he likes asparagus (FINALLY), made some amazing muffins...maybe I should stop there. I really wanted to write about this potato recipe, but I think the muffins should come first.
I really like muffins, along with just about any other food item, but I have discovered that a lot of muffin recipes are strange. The muffins are dry, horrible little things that should be given to the children to play with, not eaten with coffee to start a lovely spring day. Or, the recipe turns out ok, but calls for something I can't swap out without compromising the consistency, such as a juice or sour cream. And, I know it probably sounds funny but I usually don't have sour cream. It's not that I don't buy it, its just that it goes really fast. But, if I buy a lot we don't use it...you know how that is.

Anyway, this is another of those common items that I just can't seem to find a stand-by, basic recipe for. Until now. This is another one from the Art and Soul of Baking, a book I highly recommend. I use it weekly, if not more. Sometimes I look through this book and feel like I need to exercise.
There is a great muffin recipe in here, and you can make all sorts of substitutions. The muffins I made the other day were the suggested Lemon Raspberry. A lovely combination, and really just the tip of the iceberg. Lemon Blueberry, Poppy seed, Orange Cranberry, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter....you could make anything! The recipe uses butter, and you zest the lemon and infuse the melted butter with the zest. This allows the flavor to permeate all the batter, and you could get creative with the raspberry. I happened to have some frozen raspberries in my freezer, but I would think you could drop a bit of raspberry or blackberry jam into each muffin cup and swirl it with the batter, or just leave it as a jellied center. Dried cranberries, fresh cranberries, blueberries or any other fruit you like (think: dried apricot, dark chocolate and coconut...hmm...) I don't see why you couldn't mash up a banana or two and add that to the batter with a hand full of chopped walnuts. This is that recipe. Its the only muffin recipe I will ever use. I will make all my modifications on this one. I really love it. There is even a little bit about a streusel topping you can add (can?) so this is definitely a keeper.


Lemon Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

For the muffins:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 stick butter
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 half-pint basket raspberries, or 1 1/4 cups frozen (do not thaw)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 and position an oven rack in the center. Line a muffin tin and lightly spray the top with cooking spray. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to blend thoroughly. Melt the butter in a medium glass dish in the microwave and add the lemon zest. Add the buttermilk and let the mixture sit for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the mixture is tepid. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until well blended.
Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. Gently fold in the raspberries.
Divide the batter evenly between prepared muffin cups.

For the streusel:
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine in a bowl and sprinkle over muffin batter.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Transfer muffin tin to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before lifting the muffins out. Transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or hot.