the {BEST} apple pie

Happy Monday!

What a great weekend of doing basically nothing (which worked out for me since I spent many hours in serious ulcer related pain! UGH!) BUT... I also got to spend some quality time with my little family and relax. One of my favorite "relax" activities is baking!

Today I wanted to share what I believe is the very best apple pie recipe...in the world.

I based this recipe (the filling & topping) on The Pioneer Woman's "Dreamy Apple Pie" because... let's get  real. Ree knows what she is doing. I just made a few changes that I have found better suit my baking style :)

the BEST apple pie


Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled. I prefer to use my peeler and peel the WHOLE apple into thin slices as opposed to chopping it up. It makes the pie that much more delicious!
2 TB flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c (overflowing) sugar
1 c and 2 TB heavy whipping cream
3 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation!)
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
7 TB cold butter, chopped into pieces
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c pecans
Sea salt (to taste, depending on how much you like!)

Pie Crust:
2 sticks unsalted butter (COLD!)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup ice water
(this makes 2 single layer pie crusts or 1 double pie crust!)

Alright! Here's what you do. First, I make the pie crust! This is because it has to be refrigerated for an hour. So...
1. Put the flour, salt and sugar in your food processor and pulse just a few times to combine the dry ingredient.
2. Toss in your cut up chunks of cold butter. Pulse just until coarse. There can still be some pea sized chunks of butter, this is fine!
3. Sprinkle the ice water over your mix. Pulse again a few times. Take the lid off and check it out... it will look course, but when you squeeze between fingers it (should) stick together. If it's not doing that yet, add a little more ice water. Pulse until you find this consistency.
4. Take half of the mix and press it together. I then put it on plastic wrap, push down into a disk, wrap up and throw it in the freezer/refrigerator. You can do the same with the rest, it will save up to 3 months in freezer!

While my dough is chilling I prepare the filling and topping.

1. In a large bowl, mix together heavy whipping cream, flour, cinnamon, sugar,  brown sugar and vanilla extract.
2.  Peel the apples. First peel off the skin and get rid of it. Then peel the apples directly into the bowl. Mix until apples are coated.
3. In food processor: pulse together butter, flour, brown sugar, salt and pecans. JUST until coarse and chunky. You want it to remain spreadable :) (This is your topping)

Easy!

Now.. preheat your oven to 375 degrees

Take out the disk of pie dough and set it on wax paper. Smash it down. Put another piece of wax paper on top. Roll out to the best of your ability with rolling pin, over the wax paper (mine never ends up being a perfect circle. No worries, it will still work).

Peel back the wax paper and then lay the pie crust onto the bottom of pie pan (9 inch works great! I like to use a deeper pan for apple pie as well!) Push down into bottom of pan and then peel off top wax paper. From here you can correct any areas with your fingers and make the edges all even. Or pretty, whatever suits your fancy!

Pour the filling in over pie crust.

Pour topping evenly over the filling.

Your pie should now look like this:

 

Put your ready-to-bake pie pan on a cookie sheet. Loosely lay a piece of tin foil over the top of the pie.

Bake for 1 hour (or until the topping is golden brown!) I remove the foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.

And.. finished product! Now, it is my service to tell you that apple pie should ALWAYS be served warm and with vanilla ice cream. But maybe that is just my preference? You be the judge :)

Enjoy!

Dreams Come True: Baking Edition

Merry post Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. I certainly got in a lot of time with all of the people that I love, and that is my favorite part!

While Christmas certainly is not about the "getting," I feel extra blessed this year- for several reasons.
One of those reasons are a handsome (heavily bearded) guy in my life who I am particularly fond of. And I am incredibly thankful for him and all of the things that he is.  And…he may or may not be pictured  below in a very mysterious photo.

I can't help myself. 

Also, I am thankful when he brings these kind of things into my life…
YES.
This happened!

I talk a lot less about baking and a lot more about products on this forum, but the truth is, I spend a lot of my down time baking and trying new recipes. I have wanted one of these beauties for years. YEARS. I thought someday it might happen,  but I certainly didn't expect it to be any time soon. To say that I am thrilled with my new Kitchen Aid would be an understatement. My baking game just took an unexpected step up.

So, yes, I am feeling a little extra spoiled this year, and today I got to put my new dream machine to use! I have had bread-baking on my to-do list for a few months now. For some reason when I see "yeast" and "rising" I get a little intimidated. But with the help of my kneading attachment, I went ahead and tried it out.

My little adventure today….

Woo!

I got this recipe here if anyone is interested. 

Anyways, on a more serious note, I really am feeling overwhelmed with a lot of love this season. And as much as I feel the love, I also have seen how much shorter life can be than we anticipate. As much as we believe that our loved ones will be with us forever, sometimes that is just not the plan. The holidays are a great time to see our families and friends and let them know how much they mean to us. But, so is everyday. Starting today, don't  forget to say "I love you" and maybe hug a little longer. Each day we have with each other is just another day to show how much we care.

Merry (post) Christmas!
And stay tuned… of course I have some new products to review.

The 10 Best: Winter Edition

I hate the cold. I despise it. But everyone knows the best way to counteract a negative attitude is with positive thoughts! I preach this concept to the parents and families I work with everyday, so maybe I should try it out on my own. So, in honor of it being 10 degrees in Nebraska today, this is my best attempt at regaining some happiness:

1.  Clothing Staples

Goodbye short shorts, hello leggings, boots and oversized sweaters! Did you skip the gym because you didn’t want to develop hypothermia? Eat a few too many pieces of pie at Thanksgiving? No worries, no one will know in your stretchy pants and massive sweater (see below). 

*Note: I am not advocating skipping workouts or binging on dessert. I am just saying, it happens. Also, clearly she didn't skip her workout...or eat any pie.

2. Ugg Boots

I feel like this has become a controversial topic. I see lots of articles circulating on facebook about the cruelty that goes into creating a pair of Ugg boots. Honestly, I didn’t watch any of these videos. I don’t know how my Ugg boots came to be, but I do have one question. For those who think they are hideous, or simply do not support how they are made: have you ever put your feet into a pair of Uggs on a -10 degree day? It’s heavenly. It’s soft, warm and cozy. It's everything I want in the winter. Don’t judge.

3. Lights. Everywhere.

Christmas lights are so romantic. I love it. My neighbors deck their house out with lights. The only thing that makes driving around freezing your butt off enjoyable is seeing all of the lights sparkling everywhere. It’s a Winter wonderland.

4. Family gatherings

This could be true of just my family, but we undoubtedly gather more in the winter. There is an obvious correlation between this season and the holidays, but never the less, it goes together. I will tolerate the snow, ice and wind chill for some extra quality hours with the people I love the most!

5. Glitter

As referenced HERE, this time of the year is when I feel it is completely appropriate for adults to incorporate a little more glitter into their lives. Eye shadows? Nail polish? Clothing? Yes please.

6. Snow days

Only if I get one. Snow days are a beautiful thing. They allow you to curl up on the couch, read, watch movies, and cuddle without feeling guilty about doing nothing else. I mean… you cant, right? Doing anything else on this day would be a hazard to you and everyone else. I have noticed that the adult, working world does not readily embrace snow days. These are somewhat a thing of the past, but they are still awesome.

7. Sweatpants

To be honest, I wear sweatpants year around. I am always cold. But there is nothing quite like the feeling of coming home for the day, out of the cold, and putting on a pair of sweat pants. The best kinds are the ones that are old…and preferably were worn during high school track.

*Note: this is not meant to be an attractive look.

8. Hot chocolate (or any other hot drink)

I love hot chocolate. I love most hot drinks. But in my opinion, this completely loses its appeal when its 90 degrees out. If you are my Mom, you are still drinking coffee, all day long, all year around. But.. I cant do it. Drinking something hot on a summer day is more likely to make me break out into a sweat then induce enjoyment. Winter is the time. Bring it on. There is no better way to get warm then a cup of hot chocolate (or coffee). And sweatpants.

9. Smells

I know I am not the only one who does this, but I work my scents around the seasons. In fact, just today, I changed my soap to Vanilla Bean Noel. To me, Vanilla represents all that is home  & holidays. Even for myself. During the Winter I  break out my Burberry pefume. It just smells like winter to me. Also, this is the time of the year that I start randomly burning cinnamon sticks and switching out all of my scentsy fragrances to holiday scents. Ahhh. I love it.

10. The food

Who am I kidding, I need my leggings because of the extra calories I am consuming. Winter is  the best time to bake. The kitchen gets warm and cozy when the oven is on, and a warm cookie tastes 100x better when its snowing outside. And soup? I love. It is my favorite. I want to eat soup all day, everyday.... in the winter. All kinds. Holiday baking, holiday treats… special foods that your family only makes during the winter months? It's delightful.

The truth is, I could find triple the amount of things that I hate about Winter. But that's ok, whenever I am cursing my numb, dry and cracked hands, while trying to remove a 4-inch layer of ice from my windshield, I will break out this list. And smile…to myself. 

High Five for Friday!

Hello Everyone! Happy Friday!
Today I'm linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday!

This week in highlights..and no particular order....

1.) Starbucks Peppermint Mocha 

On Tuesday I had my first Peppermint Mocha of the season, and let me tell you, it was delightful. It was dreary and freezing cold here in Nebraska, and my Skinny P.M., coupled with a heartfelt conversation with one of my favorite people, made Tuesday a wonderful day! 

NOTE: on Wednesday I turned around and had an ICED P.M. Hey 60 degrees! Nice to see you!

2.) Morning Drives. 

This is literally the worst picture ever. Do these ever turn out ? Especially on a phone? Some of the sunrises this week were breathtaking! (Or maybe I was just tired. Either way.) 

3. Experimental Baking

Last night was a "bake night." I always have the baking itch, but I can't do it every week...for a few different reasons. The primary being that I will taste test. Frequently. And I will taste test the finished product until it is GONE. So, I have to have a destination for the goods in mind, or I'm not making anything! Last night I experimented with a from-scratch vanilla cupcake and a delicious frosting that I ended up putting lots of random things in (molasses? peanut butter? almond extract?...why not.) 

I wasn't satisfied. These will be attempted again. 

Hope everyone had a GREAT week.. and a wonderful upcoming weekend!