Candy Apple Pie

Candy Apple Pie? Say what? This is a twist on the basic apple pie you know and love. Because sometimes your apple pie needs a little kick in the…pie hole.

Have I ever mentioned that I’m a recipe hoarder? I have tons of recipes clipped from magazines and printed from the internet in the hopes of trying them all. Most of these have been around for a couple decades (Gasp! Am I that old?), like one I had printed out from allrecipes for Candy Apple Pie. I was intrigued by the concept and for years wanted to make it, but never got around to it. Until now. Their recipe seemed okay, but I didn’t like how the apples got cooked on the stove and then just plopped into a pie shell without baking. I wanted a real apple pie, but one that tasted like a candy apple from the fair. (‘Cause really, how many of us can actually EAT those things??) So I used the basic apple pie recipe that I’m used to and tweaked it for this purpose.

{Full recipe at bottom of post}

Start by peeling, coring, and slicing 5 large Granny Smith apples (or other tart apple). You need a generous 6 cups. Make sure you get the big ones or you will need more apples. I love my “Apple Peeler Corer Slicer” that I got from Pampered Chef many years ago. It really makes the job easy. If you make a lot of apple pies, you need this!

Place the sliced apples in a large bowl. Add the flour and sugar and mix well. (I just use my hands!) Then add the cinnamon imperials (or Red Hots) and the cinnamon oil. (The flavoring is optional but bumps up the cinnamon flavoring and I recommend it.) Mix again to make sure the candies are dispersed well throughout.

This is the Lorann Cinnamon Oil flavoring I used. Just 6 drops will do it! The bottle is really tiny, but you only need a little bit. I got mine from Amazon, but I’ve also seen it at Hobby Lobby craft store.

Place one of the prepared pie crusts into your pie plate and spread your apple filling evenly into the crust.

With the other pie crust that goes on the top, I thought I’d make little heart cut-outs since Valentine’s Day is coming up. It will need some kind of venting for the air to escape if you don’t have a tiny cutter like mine. (Mine is from a set of heart cutters used for fondant.) Just make some slits in the top instead.

Cover the apple filling with the other pie crust. Tuck the top crust edge under the bottom crust edge and crimp together to seal.

Place on a baking sheet lined with foil to catch any leakage and bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for an hour. (After about 40 minutes or so, the edges will be browned. You will probably need to cover those edges with foil so they don’t burn before the pie is done.)

When nice and golden brown, remove from oven and cool for 1-2 hours. Make sure it’s cool before serving or the filling will not be set up and it will just run all over.

Also check out my Red Hot Love Fudge recipe for another Valentine’s Day treat!

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com and combined with my own apple pie recipe.

Ingredients:

5 large Granny Smith apples, or enough tart apples to make 6 generous cups
2 prepared pie crusts (I use Pillsbury brand found in the refrigerator section of your grocery store, but homemade is even better!)
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon imperials (or Red Hots) – same as a 4 oz. jar
Optional but recommended: 6 drops LORANN Cinnamon Oil, and coarse decorating sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel, core, and slice apples to make a generous 6 cups. Place in large mixing bowl.
Add flour and sugar and mix. (I just use my hands.)
Sprinkle in cinnamon imperials and add 6 drops only of the cinnamon oil flavoring (if using).
Mix well so candies are dispersed throughout.
Place one pie crust on your pie plate. Smooth it out flat against pie plate and don’t worry about edges yet.
Fill the pie shell with the apple mixture and spread evenly.
Unroll the second pie crust and place it on top of the apples. (If desired, cut out heart shapes from a tiny cutter before placing on top.)
Tuck the top pie crust edges under the bottom pie crust edges and crimp together to seal. Press down the sealed edges on your pie plate.
If you didn’t cut out the heart shapes, make several slits in the top crust for the air to escape.
Place on foil lined cookie sheet and into a preheated oven.
After a few minutes in oven, you can sprinkle the coarse decorating sugar on top.
Bake for 60 minutes. (After about 40 minutes, check the edges and cover just the edges with foil if they are getting too brown.)
Remove from oven and cool for 1-2 hours before serving so filling is set.

Enjoy!

 

Wonton Pizza Pockets

This tasty little snack came together due to lack of food in the house. It was slim pickins around here one day because I just didn’t feel like going grocery shopping. We’ve all had those days, right? I looked around and saw that I had wonton wrappers, cheese, and pepperoni – and not much else. How about snacks for dinner kids? No complaints there! (I did add some veggies on the side, however…) While I don’t recommend this as an option for dinner normally, it would make the perfect appetizer for a party or while watching the football game.

What you’ll need:
1 package wonton wrappers (the small square ones)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices (cut up into small pieces)
Vegetable or canola oil for frying
Optional:
Wire rack and baking sheet for keeping them warm and crispy
Marinara sauce for dipping

They are easy to make, but you want to get them all prepped before starting to cook them. They fry up so quickly that you want to have them ready to go. On a nice big work surface, lay out a bunch of the wonton wrappers, get a little bowl of water, and set it nearby. If you put too many wrappers out at the same time they will start to dry out. Keep the remaining wrappers covered while you work. On each wrapper, dab some water along the edge with your finger. This will be the glue that keeps the pocket intact. Don’t put the water on all of them at once — wet each one as you go.

Next take a little bit of shredded mozzarella cheese and put it in the middle of the wonton wrapper.

Take a little bit of cut up pepperoni slices and put that on top of the cheese.

Finally, add a little more mozzarella cheese on top.

Try not to overfill it, or you’ll have a hard time sealing it up. Now take opposing corners and bring to the center, pinching them closed.

Take the other two corners and bring them up to meet the sealed ones. Remember the water is your glue so if you are having trouble, make sure you have water where you want it sealed!

Press all the edges to seal shut. If any of the edges are not sealed, your cheese will leak out when you fry them.

You can also seal up the pockets like this…

Whatever works best for you. Just pinch and press everything tightly.

Heat some vegetable or canola oil up in a pot over medium heat. When it’s hot enough, the wonton pockets should float in the oil. The first time I made these I set my burner for medium-high and they cooked way too fast and almost burnt. Keep it at medium heat and just be patient until it gets hot enough. When the oil is ready, fry a few at a time in the hot oil, a couple minutes on each side until they turn golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel, or better yet on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet. This method will keep them crispy. You can keep them warm in a 250 degree oven while you fry up the remaining pockets. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping if desired.

FYI: I have tried these with a little marinara sauce added to the cheese and pepperoni, but I prefer to leave it out of the pockets and just dip them in the sauce while inhaling enjoying.

~Micha

Not a Review (…but you need to get this!)

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog of food and DIY to bring you a review a testimonial to one of the best mascaras out there, in my opinion. {GUYS: Come back later on when there’s food. Buh-bye for now.} Chances are, you may not have known about this little gem. That’s because it’s from FLOWER, a cosmetics company owned by Drew Barrymore, who does not advertise. They rely on Drew to promote the brand, freeing up all those advertising dollars to be spent on making great products. It’s important to note that the products are made in the USA and not tested on animals. Woohoo!

Let me tell you why I think this mascara is the best I’ve ever used. Usually you have to choose between long lashes, curly lashes, or thick lashes. The results are based on the way the brush is shaped so you are hard pressed to get all three in one shot, unless you use an eyelash curler as well.  This company has designed the wand so it can be dialed into three different brush types!

#1 – It comes out of the tube straight and elongated to lengthen lashes…

#2 – Then with a twist to the end of the wand, it becomes a volumizing brush to thicken lashes…

#3 – And finally, twist two times to use the curling brush…

{Tip: I recommend straightening out the wand before putting it in the tube to re-coat. I think it will keep the brush from getting ruined.}

I haven’t had any issues with it wearing off before I take it off. It’s a quality product for a lot less. Even if you’re not on a budget, I think it’s better than anything you’d find at a cosmetics counter in a department store. Plus, I love the rose gold packaging! But I do think the card backing needs some redesign. It’s hard to see the FLOWER logo and I had a tough time finding it. The first photo at the beginning of the post shows what it looks like.

The ONLY drawback to this exceptional find is that you can only get it at one store. WALMART. Did you catch my frown? I never go there unless I have to. I’m a Target girl. Walmart gets my blood boiling as soon as I drive into the parking lot. I don’t know what it is, and I apologize to any loyal Walmart customers, but that store makes me insane. It is worth going there just for this mascara though, so I will brave the crazy drivers and long lines for you, Drew. And for my lashes.

Cheers to an inexpensive, USA-made, not tested on animals, quality product!
OK, back to the food…
~Micha