it’s apple picking time

Monday the kids didn’t have school so we went on an apple picking adventure. 

I have been on a mission off and on for years now hoping to make my Grandmother’s (and Mom’s) most fabulous apple pie.  It requires a Lodi apple, and they can be a challenge to find.  One - because they are ripe very early in the season.  Two – because nobody seems to grow them anymore.  Turns out this orchard grows them, but like I said they are an early apple and were long gone. 

The staff at the orchard told me these Burgundy apples would be a great substitute.  They’re beautiful.  When I sliced into them I could smell how tart they were.  This was going to be perfect.

WRONG.  (don’t worry there is a happy ending)

Now in everybody’s defense, I don’t think the staff fully grasped what I was looking for in an apple.  I knew I was going for tart and something that would cook down with a slightly soft texture.  What I didn’t know then was that I needed an apple that was all that, and not juicy.  The pie looked great and smelled great.  I had such hopes, but when I stole a little bite while it was cooling I saw that it was a watery mess.  So I had to throw away an entire pie. 

But then…

I made apple bake.  Growing up, this was the closest thing we had to apple crisp at our house.  These apples are perfect for apple bake.  In less than 30 minutes we were devouring bowls of warm gooey apples mixed with a layer of crunchy cinnamon and brown sugar.  It was gone before we knew it.  So I have been making it every night, and will continue to do so until my two baskets of apples are gone.  After that I may go back and get more.

Apple bake

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter (cut into pieces)

6-8 apples (peeled and sliced)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place apples in bottom of an 8″ baking pan.  In separate bowl, blend the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter together with a pastry blender or fork.  Sprinkle mixture over apples and bake 30 – 60 minutes.  You will know it’s done when it bubble in the center.

As for Grandma’s pie – ask me next July

Tags: apple