Sweeter Than Me Apple Pie

So here it is, by popular demand. This pie is always a HIT!!!! People love it. It also just so happens to work well with the fact that I have 4 apples trees and I can as many apples as I can late in the Fall….well, that is until I cannot look at another apple without wanting to throw it through the window. I’ll tell’ya….there’s got to be an easier way to core apples and peel them than with this crank corer/peeler! But for now I guess I’ll be happy with the fact that I don’t have to do it all with a knife and a push down corer….YUCK…I’ve done that before!!

So here’s a bit of information you may want in attempting to make this pie……you can use store bought canned filling BUT I WOULD SERIOUSLY ADVISE AGAINST IT!!!...1) Because the ‘filling’ with the apples is this odd gel substance that I wouldn’t feed to my dogs, which brings me to #2) It’s just disgusting plan and simple. I actually haven’t figured out which way I like my pie best, that’s mainly because I never fill it the same way twice it seems, and it’s normally so good the next time I make it that I never remember which way I like it best! Nonetheless, as long as you stick to either fresh apples or canned apples or canned apple sauce (using my recipes)….then you’ll be just fine!

So here’s just a few ways you can fill with pie….

1)All fresh apples
2)All Canned Apples (homemade, of course)
3)Fresh with Applesauce (homemade, of course)
4) ½ Fresh, ½ Canned
5)1/2 Fresh, ½ Applesauce
6)1/2 Canned, ½ Applesauce
Or 7)….just go crazy and throw all 3 together in the pie.

WHATEVER WAY YOU CHOOSE TO DO IT….JUST MAKE SURE IT’S A HEAPIN’OUT OF THE TOP OF THE PIE CRUST (as in don’t just stop adding apples when you get to the top of the crust…you want your pie to have some height to it)

OKAY……so here’s the recipe
CRUST
1 ½ c. all purpose flour
½ c. vegetable oil
½ tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
Just a couple of shakes of cinnamon

TO MAKE THE CRUST….

Throw all those ingredients in a bowl and mix it well! I use my KITCHEN AID Stand-Alone (1)because I love it, 2)my honey bunny bought it for me our 1st Christmas together, and 3) ITS RED!!!!)

Once you’ve mixed your ingredients well, toss them into a GREASED Pie pan. Now, the easiest way to do this is just use your fingers, knuckles and palms to flatten the crust onto the bottoms and sides of the pan…..and now, to fill….

(now again, decide how you want to use your filling from the previously mentioned list….in this case, I will show you will ½ applesauce and ½ homemade canned filling)
Put your filling and sauce (in this case) on the crust and even out. AGAIN, no matter what method you use, you want some height on the filling. If you choose to use fresh apples alone, keep in mind that the apples will cook down in the pie, so much sure you give fresh apples some EXTRA HEIGHT!!!!! Now, IF YOU ALSO USE FRESH APPLES, you want to remember to put about ¾ cup of sugar and about 2 tbsp cup of cinnamon over the top of the apples with about 3 tsp. cup of flour. If you use canned or applesauce, you don’t have to add quite as much sugar in the filling however, you must make sure that your canned and sauce is kinda sweet already.

Now, you can reduce the amount of sugar of course for canned or sauce, but I must say, this is SWEETER Than Me Apple Pie…..now that’s gonna have to include a lot of sugar if it’s gonna be any sweeter than me!!! Still, you do have to use about that much sugar for the filling with fresh apples because it cooks with the water in the apples to make a sauce/filling within the pie.

ALSO, thank goodness one time I didn’t use flour in the actually filling because my cousin was eating it, and she is gluten free…..so at least she was able to enjoy the filling at least. Now, I don’t know anything about gluten free flour but I guess you could use that in place throughout the recipe.


NOW FOR THE BEST PART……THE TOPPING…..

Okay, not knocking those stripety topped apple pies…..but this is supposed to be mouth wateringly SWEET….and if I wanted to cover the whole thing in crust, I’d just fry me up a pie…..which I’m not doing just yet…..
The topping for this pie is sweet ,crunchy and chunky……use

¼ c. Butter or margarine
½ c. Flour
½ c. Sugar
-2 tsp. Cinnamon.

Soften your butter a bit and throw all ingredients together back in your bowl to mix. If you have a cutter you can use it, but for me, since I have no cutter, I simply put my whisk looking attachment on my mixer and let’her rip. You want to butter to combine with the sugar and flour (and cinnamon) to make mouth watering chunks.

Now, there’s two ways I form the topping for the pie…..sometimes I let it mix into little bitty balls about the size of a pea or a bit bigger….on medium high speed. Or double to topping recipe and let them mix into both little and big pieces. This is so you can cover it in the little pieces while randomly placing the bigger chunks on the top. This is to create extra bites of HEAVEN throughout eating a piece of this pie.

My favorite of course is the latter (remember the pie’s name) but whatever you choose be generous with this topping allover the pie. (in my experience it’s always better to double this topping recipe no matter what.)

Once you have put the topping on, let that sucker cook nice and slow at 350* for an 45-1 ½ hours just depending on your oven power….basically, you want the pie to get nice and brown on the top!!! (remember to put a pan under the pie pan in the oven to catch any drippings!)……

Now, if you are making this pie for company, make sure that you make it at least 3 hours prior because it’s gonna be hot for awhile after you take it out.

A BIT OF EXTRA ADVICE….

When I make a pie, I normally make about 2-3 of them (I’ve always gotta send one to Mom and Dad’s house since my Mother no longer cooks munch …and she definitely doesn’t cook random sweets just because she feels like it)….also, if the Hubby were to ever find out I was cooking a pie for someone without making him one to enjoy for a few evenings, I’d definitely be having to find myself a new kitchen to cook in!!!! So, I like to make these pies ahead of time if I know I’m gonna be busy with the little on the day it needs to be made.

IF YOU PRE-MAKE THESE PIES, EVEN AS EARLY AS THE DAY BEFORE, MAKE SURE YOU PUT THESE PIES IN THE FREEZER…..when you are ready just pop them in the oven frozen and all, just let’er cook a bit longer! (you don’t have to thaw it) Don’t put it in the frig to store over night to cook the next day…..for some reason it will dry it out and the topping won’t turn out right. BUT OF COURSE, IF YOU CAN, YOU ALWAYS WANNA COOK THIS SUCKER FRESH!!!!!!

ENJOY!!!!!