People like to tell you what is the best apple pie they’ve ever had, and it usually has to do with their moms– what mom made, what mom baked, what mom did, taught, caused, brought forth… what she’d erased. You name the reason why people seem to say it’s mom; yep, she’s to blame for all the truth and/or misconceptions of the world. Please… I’m a mom. Oh, what truth is there to that.
But I do know there is truth to good apple pie, and the different recipes of apple pie that any mom can make, bake up, present and break to call it even. Let’s not raise brats, nor let us be brats as adults and parents, alike; let’s give truth to meaning and applaud all the moms out there who had to not only clean bottoms and messes, but say and give grace to all the many sticky situations in which a mom had to reveal the actual truth of moments like these; even, apple pie. Be appreciative for mom who cleaned up more than your share of problems, dirty face, and baked you an apple pie that you can now say is the best. “Oh, applesauce…”
Rustic Dutch Apple Pie and Applesauce ~
– Skirt in the Kitchen –
Single crust for a 9-inch pie (Make sure it’s a good homemade, flaky pie dough recipe.)
6 large Granny Smith apples, cored, sliced thinly– peelings left on
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 packed dark brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of 1 orange, and 1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum (Myer’s Rum is the preferred choice for baking.)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 stick of unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Red Mill MUESLI
3/4 cup brown sugar, slightly packed but not much
This goes into a preheated 375 degree oven for a total of 1 hour… and this pie is not sweet enough until the following day. Allow it to set for full sweetness that it deserves. It is the old way of eating an apple pie, so the peelings are left on, initially giving it a tartness; that is why it needs to set up for a day. Good to not break tradition sometimes…
Bake crust on a heated baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes so bottom crust will not be soggy, at all, after pie has been baked. Take out and let cool, just slightly, not long.
Core and slice apples, thinly. Leave skins on or not, but more tender without them. Immediately pour in juices from fruits along with the zest of lemon and orange. Pour in rum, stirring.
Mix both sugars with all the spices, pinch of cayenne and salt; add, tossing the apples to coat.
In another bowl, mix together the flour and Muesli. Go ahead and sprinkle in 1/8 teaspoon, as well. With your fingers, combine and crumble small cubes of unsalted butter, 8 tablespoons, until moist from the heat of your fingers, able to clump up… you don’t want any visible dryness of flour and Muesli.
Put half or just over half of the apple mixture into the pie shell that was perviously baked for 10 minutes.
Now top with the crumb mixture, using your fingers to distribute evenly.
Place on the heated baking sheet for 15 minutes, uncovered. Then bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 30 minutes.
Turn the pie, cook while still covered for 15 more minutes.
Take the aluminum foil off the pie and finish baking for the last five minutes.
Take out of the oven and cool for a few hours on a cooling rack, then refrigerate overnight. Before serving the next day, let it set up to room temperature or slightly warm up, per serving, in the microwave. This is good with vanilla icecream.
Applesauce ~
Put remaining apple mixture in a heavy pot or Dutch oven, pour in 1 cup apple cider. Bring to a boil, stir and turn down to simmer, cover the pot and stir once in a while. Be sure to make certain that it does not cook down too much, and if it does not have enough liquid, add a little more apple cider, but keep stirring once in a while and mash apples with a mashing utensil every time you check the apples to see how they’ve been cooking. They will take a long time to cook and become tender for applesauce.
This is an old-fashioned applesauce that I remember my mother making for my siblings and me quite often. It was just as well the way her own mother made it for her as a child. She has even made this for MY children. Now I can do this for them, handing down a bit of her love– through simple applesauce.
… leaves from my little girl, playing in the grass with the sun and her brother.
(Bradford Pear)
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