When I was growing up, I remember going to my grandparents’ place in Lake Cowichan for Thanksgiving dinners. Walking in their house, you could smell the fresh pumpkin pie my grandma made earlier in the day, cooling on the counter, and the turkey cooking in the oven. It was one of the few times I was at their house where my grandma was baking. Her freezer was always filled with Tupperware containers containing cookies, squares, and pies.
This past week, I have been thinking about those Thanksgivings and thought I would make my first ever pie, in my grandma’s honor, and make it a new tradition in my house. Thanks to working at Cow-op, I did not have far to go to figure out what type of pie I was going to make. There was no way I have the nerve to make a pumpkin pie just yet.
I decided to make an apple pie since it is quite popular in my house. Now, I should note, I have never made a pie before and I wanted to make it from scratch, except for the pie crust since I have never learned how to make my grandma’s great pastry.
For the apple pie, I bought dessert apples from Fruit Forest Farms. After having the chance to do a site visit in August, I knew I was ordering the right ones. (If you missed that blog, you can read it here.) The hardest part for me? Was just peeling the apples. It took me a LONG time, since the apples were small, but it allowed me to put more apple in each bite. I decided to do a streusel topping, since I did not have pastry for the top. The entire process seemed simple to me, and anyone could make this pie. Funny thing? The recipe said it made one pie…. As I added the filling to the pie crust, there was no way all that filling was going to fit. Good thing I had a second pie crust!
Once the pies were done, and taken out of the oven, my entire home smelled amazing. I could not wait for them to cool off so I could try some of it. Once they were cooled, I grabbed a spoon, and took a bite. It was SO good, I had to share, so you can find the recipe down below. 🙂
I must admit, I am kind of proud of myself for making these pies. I hope I made my grandma proud too ?
by Darcie Nolan
Food Hub Facilitator & Cow-op Blogger
Apple Streusel Pie
8 cups of apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula, mix filling ingredients. Refrigerate the bowl while making the streusel topping.
Streusel topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled & cut into cubes
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter until thick and crumbly.
Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving some of the liquid in the bowl. Sprinkle streusel topping over the filling.
Baking Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Make sure the rack is positioned in the lower third of the oven.
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 F and bake for 30-35 minutes. When done baking, leave the pie in the dish, put on a wire rack and cool for 3 hours