Everyone I know drinks coffee. Sometimes I feel like the odd man out because it’s not my cup of tea (get it? HA!) but because I was hosting a Spring brunch for a few people, serving coffee and a light lunch, I needed a tasty dessert too. I remember seeing this little ol’ lady and her husband in the mercantile in Channing, TX; they always had coffee and apple pie. I decided that I wanted to serve apple pie at my brunch but something a little more creative than the standard deep dish apple pie and that’s when I stumbled upon this very delicious apple pie over at Simply Recipes. There are wonderful recipes over there and this was no exception. Even my husband who is not fond of apple pie, loved it!!

You need to begin with a pie crust. I made my pie crust from scratch but you could buy one if that’s your thing. I added notes at the bottom of what I’d change for when I make it again.

Guest post from Candi: I’m a stay at home mommy to 3 children.  I went from a full time career as a Credit Analyst to a full time career as “Hiney-wiping-nose-cleaning-mommy-referee”.  I love cooking, baking and tweaking recipes for my picky eater (my hubby!)  I love to save money and I’m always looking for a bargain.  And in my free time I love to scrapbook, but who am I kidding, what mother has “free time”?!?!

INGREDIENTS:

For the filling:

• 1 9″ pie crust
• 8 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

For the streusel topping:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter, diced
• dash of salt

DIRECTIONS

If you are going to bake this pie immediately, then preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place prepared apples into a large mixing bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and sprinkle over the apples, tossing so all the apples are coated in sugar mixture. Pour apples into prepared pie crust, mounding the apples in the center of the pie shell; set aside. In the same small bowl, mix together the streusel topping ingredients until they are crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples in the crust. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 25-40 minutes longer until apples are tender with pierced with a fork and juices are bubbling. Cool pie on a wire rack and serve warm. 8-10 servings.

– OR –

Freeze this pie unbaked for best results. Wrap it well in freezer wrap, then label and freeze. I double wrapped the pies in plastic wrap and then doubled wrapped them with tin foil. To thaw and bake, place frozen pie on a cookie sheet. Cover loosely with foil and bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 40 minutes. Then remove foil and bake 35-40 minutes longer until the pie crust and topping are golden and the apples are tender. Let cool on wire rack and serve.

I have to tell you I baked this last night and it took about an extra hour after removing the foil. The best way to tell if it’s ready is by checking the softness of the apples, and the bubbling that’s going on. Make sure you let it rest for out of the oven for about 20 minutes so the pie is easy to cut and handle.

Pizza is like the best ever food invention. You can eat it cold, hot, with meats, vegetables, and even as a dessert.  When I was asked if I wanted to try the new Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast,  I was like heck yeah! Any excuse to make pizza!  We were supposed to have family night but there were ranch duties that needed tended too. Luckily, I was able to spend pizza time with my 13 year old which was exciting because he’s at the age where he doesn’t want to be around his mom so much you know?

Anyways, he agreed and not only did we make some great pizza, we had a lot of fun.  I was cracking up at the “do I just pour?” and “is this how to do it?”.  We decided to make Pepperoni pizza first, then a dessert pizza.  This post will focus on the pizza dough and the dessert pizza but if you need a simple quick pepperoni pizza, all you need is the pizza dough recipe I’ll be posting, some pizza or spagetti sauce and your choice of toppings. It can be made to eat in 30 minutes.

Also, because I took A LOT of photos, I made a slide show for you so that the page doesn’t take FOREVER to load! Just scroll down towards the bottom for that.

30-MINUTE PIZZA CRUST DOUGH (can be found on the back of the Fleischmann’s Yeast package)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 – 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 envelope Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup of very warm water (120° to 130° F)
• 3 tablespoons oil

PIZZA CRUST DIRECTIONS

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil.  Mix together until well blended; about 1 minute.  Add ½ cup flour gradually until dough forms a ball. Add additional flour, if needed, to handle.  Spoon dough out of bowl onto floured surface. Dough will be slightly sticky.  Knead on floured surface.  Knead until dough is smooth and elastic; about 4 minutes.  You can either press dough out to fill greased pizza pan or roll dough to a 12-inch circle and transfer to greased pizza pan.  Top as desired with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.
Bake on bottom oven rack at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is brown.

The Pizza Yeast from Fleschmann’s is new and I could definitely tell a difference in it. I think anyone who uses yeast a lot will be able to see the fabulous difference!  I thought I’d give you a close up of the ingredient that makes the whole recipe work!

APPLE CRUMB DESSERT PIZZA PIE

INGREDIENTS

• # 1 cups brown sugar, packed
• # 1 cups all-purpose flour
• # 2 ounces butter, cold, cut in pieces (1/2 stick of butter)
• # 1/4 cup of sugar
• # 2 cans of Apple Pie Filling

ICING INGREDIENTS

• Powdered Sugar
• Milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400′.  Combine brown sugar, flour, and sugar in a mixing bowl; cut in butter until the mixture is like coarse crumbs.  Pour and spread Apple Pie filling all over Pizza Dough Crust; top with crumb mixture.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes. While pizza is baking, combine 1-2 cups of powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of milk to desired consistency.  You don’t want it too thick but not too runny either.  When dessert pizza is done, drizzle icing all over pizza pie!

To see my son doing all the work, check out the slide show made via whrrl!

One lucky winner will receive a $100 gift card!  WOOHOO!

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment answering this question–What is your favorite pizza topping? Maybe like us, you love pepperoni or mushrooms. Maybe you love dessert pizza and have your own favorite fruity topping! Share your ideal pizza with us!

Additional methods of entry, leaving each one in a separate comment, are:

• Share on a social networking site like Twitter or Facebook.
• If you’ve got some of Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast at home, create a pizza and share it via whrrl! (this gives you 10 extra entries)

Giveaway ends on Nov. 1st.  Good luck and enjoy!

Disclosure: Post is sponsored by ACH Foods, maker of Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast , however, my opinion of the product remains authentic as always.

Just bringing you easy and affordable recipes these days huh!  To make these Apple Turnovers from scratch would be divine but since many of us don’t have the time, I found a shortcut from the coolest cookbook ever, 101 Things to Do with Canned Biscuits!  These only take a few minutes to prepare and about the same amount of time to cook.

I love cookbooks like this and if you’re into this stuff, check out the whole line of 101 things cookbooks for fun and easy recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (16.3oz) biscuits
• 1 can apple pie filling
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400′.  Flatten each biscuit into a 6″ round.  Place 2 heaping tablespoons of pie filling on each biscuit.  Moisten edges of dough with water.  Fold over and press edges firmly with a fork to seal.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Mix cinnamon and sugar and then sprinkly over top of biscuits.  USE IT ALL.  It might seem like a lot but it’s really not.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  YUMMY!