Fall Leaves Toffee Apple Pie

November 21, 2012 by 3 Comments

Just like the pumpkin pie… apple pie is another family staple in my home at Thanksgiving.  A few years back, I found a recipe that included toffee chips and chocolate and I fell in love.  Since then, I’ve made dozens of other pies, but I keep coming back to this recipe. It’s simple amazing.

Since I’ll be bringing this pie to my neighbors house for Thanksgiving, I wanted to kick it up a notch and make it, not only taste, but look extra special.  I was inspired by this pie on the Family Feedbag blog and decided I could make my pie look just as cute!

 

I love how the toffee topping under the crust makes the tree look like it’s brown and covered with bark!! Love it!

Enjoy!

Print
Fall Leaves Toffee Apple Pie

Ingredients

    Apple Pie Filling
  • 6-7 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 pre-made pie crusts
  • red, green, yellow and orange Wilton food coloring gel
    • Toffee Topping
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed
  • 1/3 cup Hershey's toffee & chocolate chips (you could use Heath bar if you can't find the bag of toffee/choc.)

Instructions

    Toffee Apple Pie
  1. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.
  2. Mix together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and spices in a small bowl.
  3. In a very large bowl bowl, toss apples with the zest and juice of the lemon.
  4. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples and fold together until all the apples are coated.
  5. Line pie pan with one pre-made crust. Poke a few holes in the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork.
  6. Mound the apple mixture into the pie pan and spread evenly. I used the back of my spatula to gently press the apples into the corners of the pan.
  7. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and toffee/chocolate chips together.
  8. Spread the cubed butter over the top of the apples. Sprinkle the toffee mixture evenly over the entire pie.
  9. Place second pie crust with the tree cutout over the top of the apples. Trim the edges and crimp the sides together using your finger and thumb. Reserve the excess dough for the leaves. (see below)
  10. Brush the entire crust with milk.
  11. Place the prepared leaves around the tree.
  12. Sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar.
  13. Bake at 450 F degrees for 10 minutes then reduce to 350 F degrees and bake another 35-45 minutes or until center is bubbly.
    14. Fall Leaves & Tree
  14. Using a sharp paring knife, cut out the shape of a tree in the second pie crust.
  15. After you place this crust on top of the pie and trim the edges, use these scraps to make the leaves.
  16. Separate the dough into 4 equal parts and color them with red, yellow, green and orange food coloring gel. Roll out the dough and cut into leaves. You can even mix a few colors and create multi-colored leaves.
  17. Use the sharp paring knife to score the leaves (veins).
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://javacupcake.com/2012/11/fall-leaves-toffee-apple-pie/

 

Filed Under: apple, holiday, pie, pies and tarts, recipes

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

July 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

It’s cherry season here in Germany… and they are EVERYWHERE!  Last week I think my husband and father ate at least 10lbs in cherries.  All of them bought from a little German lady and her cherry stand on the side of the road here in Bavaria. Yeah, they’re that good.  And yeah… I got more.

 

Last night, my friend Mareile brought over 6 cups of fresh cherries from the cherry tree in her back yard.  More fresh, local, German cherries.  This time… I hid them from my husband and father so I could make pie.  Cherry pie.  Oh yeah…. fresh cherry pie.

Granted… I’ve never made cherry pie before.  BUT, I have made plenty of other berry pies so I figured this couldn’t be too difficult.  And I was right.  It wasn’t hard.  It was pretty darn easy.

Although… pitting the cherries proved to be a challenge.  I didn’t have a pitter.  LUCKILY one of my fabulous readers suggested I use a straw to pit the cherries.  Which is exactly what I did.  I took my green straw from my Starbucks reusable iced coffee cup and poked it through each cherry to get the pit out.  Worked like magic! I got cherry juice all over my fingers and table… but it was so worth it.  Took about 15 minutes to pit 6-7 cups of cherries.  YUM!

Now… you could prepare this filling while the cherries are ripe and in season and then store it in your freezer until you’re ready to turn it into pie.  OR you could just pour the filling into a pie crust and use it right away like I did.

And like I’ve said a million times before… I don’t make pie crusts.  I suck at it…. so I used a premade crust.  (Which I happen to enjoy, actually!)

CHERRY PIE FOR THE WIN!

 

Print
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Enough to fill one 9in pie

Ingredients

  • 6-7 cups fresh cherries, pitted and clean
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 Tbsp corn starch
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbps Lemoncino liquor (or fresh squeezed lemon juice)
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Prepare the cherries by cleaning and pitting them. Set aside.
  2. In a large pot on medium heat, whisk together the sugar, water, corn starch, salt, almond & vanilla extracts and the Lemoncino. Continue whisking until the sugar and corn starch have dissolved completely.
  3. Add the cherries and gently fold into the liquid. Cook on medium to medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until the liquid thickens. Frequently stir the cherries, making sure not to break or crush them. The mixture might like to stick to the bottom of the pan if it's too hot... so make sure to scrape the bottom often.
  4. If you're using the filling for a pie right away, pour the mixture into a prepared pie crust. Bake at 425 F degrees for about 45 minutes or until the center of the pie is bubbling.
  5. If you're using the filling at a later date, allow to cool in the pan and then transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to one week or freeze for several months.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://javacupcake.com/2012/07/homemade-cherry-pie-filling/

Filed Under: cherry, pie, pies and tarts, recipes

Peach & Blackberry Galette

August 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Mmmmm fresh fruit from the Farmer’s market! I heart you! So sooo sooooo much!  I ventured into pie territory a while back and it was a great experience and one of my favorite baking adventures… and while I love the idea of a pretty pie, even more than that, I love the idea of a rustic galette.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: fruit, peaches, pie, posts by jenn, recipes

Peach Blueberry Pie

August 16, 2011 by 4 Comments

There haven’t been many recipes that I’ve seen online where I turn around and make them within 24 hours of seeing them.  I mean let’s be real here, I probably read 40 blogs a day and scan through dozens of recipes.  That’s a lot of food.

So, when I saw what Joy the Baker posted yesterday and the urge to get back in my kitchen and bake came over me I just KNEW that it was going to be this pie.

See last week, I made over 150 cupcakes in 4 days.  That may not seem like a lot of cupcakes for an established bakery, but for a stay-at-home mom who only has two good cupcake pans and and can only bake one pan at a time…. 150 cupcakes is no small feat.  I burnt

out after those four days of baking and vowed I was going to take this week off.  I said THE ENTIRE WEEK I WILL NOT BAKE.

Well, it’s Tuesday and I baked a pie.  But really, can we call that really baking?  It was more like slicing and mixing and rolling.  I guess the pie baked, but I didn’t really make anything.  lol I even used a premade pie crust.  I totally cheated.  :D

But, let me tell you… there is NOTHING BETTER than a slice of WARM peach and blueberry pie with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream.  I took a piece that was waaay too big for me and I ATE ALL OF IT.  Ok, not ALL, my daughter helped me with half but I WANTED to eat all of it!!

I used Joy’s recipe for the pie filling, changed things just a bit to accommodate for what I had in my kitchen and I used a pre-made pie crust… but seriously friends, this pie was one of the best I’ve ever made!

Peach Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Pillsbury Premade Pie Crust

about 3 pounds ripe peaches (I used 8 small peaches)

1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup (heaping) sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
juice from one lemon

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, for topping crust before baking

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Lightly spray 9-in pie dish with cooking spray. Place the rack in the center of the oven.
  2. To make the filling, wash and slice peaches. In a medium bowl, combine peach slices and blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit, and gently toss together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the lemon juice. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the crust out.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of the Pillsbury pie dough out into about a 13-inch round. Fold the dough in half and gently lift onto pie dish and unfold. Gently press into the base of the pan, being careful not to tear or stretch the dough.
  4. Add the pie filling to the pan making sure it’s spread evenly.
  5. Roll out the top crust just as you did the bottom crust. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a few small shapes in the top dough. Set cut outs aside. Fold the dough in half and gently place it on top of the pie filling.
  6. With a small knife, trim the crust, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang. With your fingers press the top and bottom crusts together and fold under. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges of the dough.
  7. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
  8. Arrange the reserved dough cut outs on top. Use a little egg wash on the backs to “glue” them to the pie.
  9. Place pie, on a cookie sheet, in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 and bake for 35-45 more minutes. Remove from the oven when crust is browned and golden, and the juices are bubbling. You may want to check it after 20-25 minutes to see if the crust is browning too much on the edges. If they are, cover with a pie crust round/protector or foil.
  10. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving.
  11. Serve warm with ice cream!
  12. Enjoy!
Filed Under: blueberry, featured, fruit, peaches, perfect for spring, pie, recipes

Homemade Blueberry Pie

July 6, 2011 by 3 Comments

Javacupcakers! Guess what?! I made a pie! From scratch! Check that beast off of the bucket list … AND it wasn’t hard!!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: blueberry, pie, posts by jenn, recipes

Triple Berry Pie

April 24, 2011 by 2 Comments

For Easter this year I wanted to make something a little more traditional for dessert. Last year, I made a super cute bunny cake and basket cupcakes which were a big hit, but being in Germany without my big family and lots of kids to bake for, I needed something simpler and smaller.  PIE!

I’m not gonna lie. I hate making pie crust from scratch. It’s a pain in my behind. I know, I know… it tastes sooooo much better than store bought, but without all my baking supplies (aka my rolling pin or glass pie pans) I wasn’t about to try to make a pie crust from scratch here. I do however think that the Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts are quite delicious and no one will ever know it came from a box!

And yes… I could have gone to the local market here and gotten all fresh fruits for this pie, which seriously, you totally can when you make it, but out of convenience and cost, I went with frozen berries.

 

JavaCupcake’s Simple Triple Berry Pie
Makes 2 – 9in pies.

2 cups strawberries, frozen (1 small bag)
2 cups raspberries, frozen (1 small bag)
2 cups blackberries, frozen (1 small bag)
1 ¼ cup sugar + more for dusting
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
6 tbsp butter
1 egg + 2 tbsp water, beaten for the egg wash
2 boxes Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place racks on two lowest shelves and place a cookie sheet on the bottom shelf to catch all the dripping juices.
  2. In a large bowl, fold together the berries, sugar, zest and lemon juice.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  3. While the berries are resting, roll out your pie dough into your 9in pie pans, leaving at least ½ inch hanging over the edge.  Cut the second sheet of dough into ¾ in strips.
  4. Fold the flour into the berries then distribute evenly into your two pans.  Brush the egg wash along the edges.
  5. Cut the butter into small pieces and place over the top of the berries.
  6. In a lattice pattern, arrange the strips of dough on top of the berries.  Cut off any excess dough that hangs over the edge from the lattice dough only.  Fold the edges of the bottom dough over and crimp.  Egg wash the entire top of the pie then sprinkle with more sugar.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 F degrees then reduce heat to 375 F degrees for 60-75 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  If you see that the edges of the pie are getting too brown, use foil or a pie ring to cover the edges to keep from burning.
  8. Cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Filed Under: fruit, perfect for spring, pie, raspberry, recipes, strawberry

Guest Blogger Ashley shares her Banana Bread Pie

April 9, 2011 by 2 Comments

I can not tell you how honored I am to do a guest blog for Java Cupcake! I am a huge fan of the blog and am just so excited to be able to share a recipe with you guys. Alittle about me before I get into the recipe. My name is Ashley and I am a foodie. [Read more...]

Filed Under: banana, bread and pretzels, guest blogger, pie, recipes

The Cherpumple

August 19, 2010 by 3 Comments

This guy is a genius! (Video inside!) [Read more...]

Filed Under: cake, pie, video