Home for Turkey Day

Hello everyone! I'm finally home with mom and dad (and my cat and dog) for a few days. Thanksgiving break is great! (except for the traffic, yuck.) Time to eat good food, mainly pie, and put up some Christmas trees with a fire in the fireplace and good x-mas music playing while baking cookies... :)

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New stuff coming soon! Especially craft how-to guides and ideas! But first, a quick recipe for Thanksgiving!!!

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Best Apple Pie Ever 

-Sam's Chunky Apple Pie-

Make: 20 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2  cups  all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1/2  cup  whole-wheat flour

1/4  teaspoon  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  sugar

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1 1/4  sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

6  tablespoons  block-style, cream cheese

1/4  cup very cold water

2  teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cooking spray

3 pounds peeled apples (a mix of Gala and Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious), cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges (can be altered any way you like.)

1/4  cup  granulated sugar

1/4  cup  brown sugar

1/4  cup  all-purpose flour

1  tablespoon  vanilla extract

2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice

1  teaspoon  cinnamon

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground nutmeg

1  large egg white, lightly beaten

vanilla ice cream

Preparation

1. Place flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a big bowl; stir. Add butter and cream cheese; stir until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water and lemon juice; stir just until dough forms.

2. Transfer dough to a floured surface (i.e. cutting board or waxed paper); form into a disk. Separate disk into 2 halves; wrap both tightly in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Turn 1 dough half out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 13-inch round (or big enough for your pie plate); transfer to wax paper. Cover and refrigerate. Fit remaining circle of dough into pie plate; trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang for crust. Using a fork, lightly pierce dough all over; chill until firm (about 20 minutes), or freeze 10 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, combine apples and next 7 ingredients (through nutmeg). Spoon filling into dough in pie plate; top with chilled dough. Fold overhang under edge of bottom dough; crimp overlap decoratively, using a fork or fingers. Brush egg over dough (add a little cinnamon and sugar for extra flavor); bake in middle of oven 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender. Let cool. Cut into slices, top with ice cream; serve.

For extra great filling, mix your filling in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for a while. This makes that gooey goodness you find in pro pies. It'll be juicier, tastier, and BETTER. :)

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Have a happy Thanksgiving!!!

♥ Sam