Written by Heather Zubiate
Fall is finally here in SoCal! Though, one couldn't tell with the temps reaching in the high 80's. All the same, it is finally baking season! And to kick off this most wonderful time of the year, I was the fortunate recipient of a wonderful gift from our neighbor, a bag full of Red Delicious apples. This unexpected bounty came to me because they were the unwanted health food rejects of the school children where our neighbors teach. And so, those silly little children's toss is my gain! Now, of course I knew that I would not be able to eat 30 Red Delicious apples in a timely manner, so I turned to the Interweb for inspiration and I got it! You never disappoint, Google search -- well, almost never.
I found this intriguing recipe on Life In The Loft House (click for original recipe). It was a special dessert of a special (sadly, now extinct) restaurant in Utah, if I recall correctly. The pie is a curious, and ingenious combination of an apple and a pecan pie -- I'm IN! However, I tweaked the original recipe from the Loft House website, because I can't help myself. So here it is, my version of the amazing apple pie made from Red Delicious apples, which come on -- are not known for being well suited for anything, except for eating fresh, or tossing in the school cafeteria trash can. After the donated bag of apples went through its astonishing make over, from drab member of the USDA food pyramid, to dessert diva; I think the little darlings would belly up to the snack bar to sample this sweet slice of heaven on a plate. And I assure you that they would never turn their little noses up at the ubiquitous Red Delicious apple ever again, and neither will you!
I found this intriguing recipe on Life In The Loft House (click for original recipe). It was a special dessert of a special (sadly, now extinct) restaurant in Utah, if I recall correctly. The pie is a curious, and ingenious combination of an apple and a pecan pie -- I'm IN! However, I tweaked the original recipe from the Loft House website, because I can't help myself. So here it is, my version of the amazing apple pie made from Red Delicious apples, which come on -- are not known for being well suited for anything, except for eating fresh, or tossing in the school cafeteria trash can. After the donated bag of apples went through its astonishing make over, from drab member of the USDA food pyramid, to dessert diva; I think the little darlings would belly up to the snack bar to sample this sweet slice of heaven on a plate. And I assure you that they would never turn their little noses up at the ubiquitous Red Delicious apple ever again, and neither will you!
The Recipe
1 8" unbaked deep dish pie shell
1/2 c. evaporated cane sugar, or granulated white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbs. all purpose flour
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
2 Tbs. lemon juice
4 medium Red Delicious apples
1/2 c. evaporated cane sugar, or granulated white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbs. all purpose flour
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
2 Tbs. lemon juice
4 medium Red Delicious apples
The Method
- Perheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a pie crust, or use an unbaked store bought deep dish pie crust.
- In a large mixing bowl place: sugars, flour, melted butter, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined. The mixture will be thick and gooey, like pecan pie filling. Set aside.
- Peel, core, and then shred the Red Delicious apples in a food processor, or by hand. They turn brown fairly quick, so do this step as safely and as fast as possible. Toss the shredded apples with the lemon juice. This will help stop the browning, firm them up, and thicken the filling by activating the pectin in the apples. It also gives a nice tartness to the apples, since Red Delicious apples are pretty one dimensional in flavor.
- Add the apples to the gooey sugar mixture and mix well. Pour apple filling into the waiting unbaked pie shell, smooth out the filling and place in the oven on the center rack. Bake for 55- 60 min. The center might be slightly giggly, but it will firm up as it cools.
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce!
Amazingly, the shredded apples do not become mush, and the filling is just sublime! Sweet, smooth, even creamy. Like I've done to the original recipe, make this one your own. If you don't have Red Delicious apples, then use what you have. If the filling is too sweet, then cut down the white sugar a bit. If you use a more tart variety, add 1/2 c. more sugar. If you want a little more or less spice, then adjust to your taste. The culinary marriage of an apple and pecan pie is truly something to get excited about, and it just might become your favorite apple pie. Heck, if you wanted to, you could even top this pie with pecans; you wouldn't hurt my feelings. Dear reader, you simply have got to try this delicious pie!