Saturday, October 8, 2011

*Nana's Best Loved Apple Pie! *


So, this is it...  
This is the day I reveal the recipe to the best apple pie-- ever!!!  (Well, at least it is in this family!)  This is Nana's apple pie, and it's basically the best dessert in my husband's family!  This Apple Pie was one of the very first posts I put up on The Cozy Little Kitchen, and I didn't share the recipe.  Now I am. :}


Starting 10 yrs. ago when Mr. Cozy and I began our committed dating relationship, I swiftly found out that Nana's apple pie was his very favorite dessert, understandably so, and he said that nobody can make it like Nana.

Well, my goal was to someday make it just as well as she does!


The first time I made it was for his 18th birthday. You have to realize that I had not even had the pleasure of  having this apple pie to eat yet! I thought I would surprise him by calling up Nana and getting her recipe for it and baking it for a special birthday surprise. 

Little did I know that no one else makes this pie in the family.  It's like a sacred recipe or something--others are afraid to touch it!

I was thrilled to present the pie to him, and the first thing he says is...
"It doesn't look like Nana's."


Can you believe it??  You have to realize that my husband is a very kind person, and usually sensitive to my feelings.

Not that day, Ha!
(I can laugh about it now.)

I didn't realize what I was up against, trying to make this famous dessert!  Don't worry, he ate it and of course said that he liked it and how thoughtful it was for me to make it.

But I could tell, that it wasn't like Nana's.


After her mentoring me on the art of baking family pies and cakes, several times making it, and 10 years later....I can almost say, I think it tastes like Nana's!!!  I have actually heard my sweet Mr. Cozy also say those words! :)

Some basic requirements for this delicious pie are two simple things.

1. Jonathan apples:  they are the perfect blend of tart and sweet and melt like buhtta!  My sad attempt of an SNL impression. Too bad these apples are only around in the autumn months!

2. Very thinly sliced apples.  I couldn't achieve such thin slices when I first started cooking, but lots of practice and a better knife has allowed me to make them very thin!  A kitchen mandolin also works, but does take away a bit of nostalgia that I like when making apple pie.

The combination of the thinly sliced Jonathan apple produces a beautiful blend of all the butter from the crumble top and cinnamon to cook down the apples, making each bite melt in your mouth!

 If you want a new to you, old fashioned apple pie recipe to try please consider this one.
It's really that good!!  It sums up the feeling of a brisk fall day, colorful leaves, gathering pumpkins and a hayride all into one bite, if that makes sense!  It will fill your kitchen with the best aroma and hopefully your heart with a simple joy!

I share with you a family heirloom of a recipe.....


Nana's Best Loved Apple Pie

Filling
1 refrigerated pie crust

4 c. thinly sliced Jonathan apples

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg 
(This is optional! I added this myself just to try it out.  It tastes great with or without!)

Topping
2/3 c. butter

3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

Enough cinnamon to lightly dust over the top.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel your apples.


Thinly slice.

Toss the apples with sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, if using until evenly coated.



Cut the cold butter into the four and sugar until crumbly.

Prepare your crust and I like to give it a egg or milk wash and shower the edges with sugar so they'll glisten!

Pour in the apples.

Pour the filling over the top and spread around evenly.  Dust with cinnamon.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Hot out of the oven!  See what I mean by crumbly, buttery topping and a glistening crust? :)
Delicious!



I'm linking up with:

Jam Hands


It's a Keeper

17 comments:

  1. This very well may be THE prettiest pie crust I have ever seen. Bookmarked this post for future reference. If I had the time to run and buy a pie crust, I would have made it today! That looks absolutely delish!

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  2. Oh, thank you so much!! I hope you get to make it soon. If you like apple pie, you should love this one! :D

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  3. I agree, this is the prettiest apple pie and I bet it tastes just as wonderful. I was going to make a quick trip to the store for a pie crust but then I saw your recipe for apple bread. I have everything in the pantry for that one so I think I'll give it a try tomorrow. I love this time of year! Have a wonderful week. Patty

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  4. Leslie, this pie looks so beautiful AND delicious! I have never made an apple pie with a crumbly top that bakes into a pie shell - as opposed to Apple Crumble. I seriously cannot wait to try this recipe! We just went apple picking on Saturday and I have tons of apples! (No Jonathans though....I wonder what is a close substitution.) Thanks so much for linking up to Mangia Mondays. Have a great week!

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  5. Recipes that are passed down within a family are ALWAYS the best. This does not look like it would disappoint!

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  6. Family recipes are the best....This pie looks so amazing. I will be making it this weekend. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Family recipes are priceless and delicious . Since I love everything with apples I should give this recipe a try . Thank you for sharing !

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  8. Looks delicious. :D

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  9. Hi Leslie, I just wanted to let you know I tried the apple bread this weekend...Delish! I love the added sugar and cinnamin on the top. I hope you don't mind I posted about it today. Patty

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  10. What a gorgeous pie! It looks delicious. Your blog is absolutely wonderful, too. Love it. I'm your latest follower. :)

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  11. This looks wonderful...I make a lot of apple pies around here and freeze them because we have a huge apple tree in the back yard... with wonderful apples on it...I make them and freeze them...can this be frozen?

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  12. I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to answering all of your wonderful questions...

    Lisa, you were wondering about a substitution for Jonathan apples? I know that Jonagolds would be good, and they seem to be easier to find! :)

    Linda, what a wonderful idea to freeze pies! I have never done that before, but I bet you would be able to with this one, too. Enjoy!

    Thanks for all your lovely comments! I find that an apple pie always brings friends together:)
    ~Leslie

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  13. This looks fabulous! We're featuring it tomorrow at our Seasonal Inspiration party. Thank you so much for sharing it!

    Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos

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  14. I shared this on my blog with a linkback to get the recipe: http://for-the-love-of-pie.blogspot.com/2011/12/nanas-best-loved-apple-pie.html

    I grew up in Ky, Paducah to be exact.

    @pril
    For-the-love-of-pie.blogspot.com

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  15. Excellent, not too sugary sweet like some.

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  16. Glad you like it, Rachel! We haven't found an apple pie recipe to beat it yet, but of course I'm partial to family recipes. :) Please come back and visit again!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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Thank you for sweetening my day with your cozy comments!