Dutch Apple Pie

As you may have noticed, I don't do pies that often. I'm a confident baker but for some weird reason, I'm not good at making pies. I'm just not. My pies are edible but they will win no prizes. I won't get requests to make them and I don't pretend they are the best. And with that........here is my latest pie making attempt. Again, I had many apples to use and apple pie is one of the only desserts I can think of to make that will use up a large amount of apples. I don't mind making pie crusts but this time I simply used a premade Marie Callandars crust. And I must say, for a premade crust, these are damn good. WAY better than Pillsbury. And for a thickener, I chose tapioca starch. It looks just like flour and it only takes a small amount to thicken nicely. I overdid it this time on the thickener and my pie was too firm. Darn! I can never get it right! Either too runny or too firm. Tapioca starch can be found at Asian grocery stores. I found mine at Uwajimiya in Seattle. It's very inexpensive and it's excellent for fruit pies because it will not make your filling cloudy at all - like sometimes flour & cornstarch will. Tapioca starch leaves your filling very clear and shiny looking. In fact, tapioca starch is recommended for lattice pies since you can see the filling so easily through the lattice. It makes for an attractive filling.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and of course it has wonderful reviews. It is indeed tasty. Just make sure you bake your pies long enough because pulling it out too early will mean crunchy apples. You will have to cover the whole pies near the end of their baking time or they will brown too much. Your pie will need that extra baking time to soften the apples.

That's it for me and pies for awhile.

If you want to cheat and not make a pie crust, then I recommend these. These are seriously good. They come 2 to a pack.

The apples were tossed with flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice and then poured into a frozen crust.

Wonderful thickener and so inexpensive. Keeps your fillings very clear not cloudy.

Dot filling with pats of butter. Then bake like this at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven to cover with the crumb mixture.

Distribute the crumb mixture on top.

Out of the oven and cooling.

I do like somewhat firm pies but considering that this pie is still slightly warm, it should not slice this neatly.

This golden brown crust is so flakey and delicious.

It's so difficult to remove that first slice without messing it up! Here is the first slice and half of the bottom crust was left in the pan! Ugh!

Dutch Apple Pie with Oatmeal Streusel
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) pie shell 5 cups apples - peeled, cored and sliced 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2/3 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup rolled oats 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 cup butter

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Fit pastry shell into pie pan and place in freezer.
2.	To Make Apple Filling: Place apples in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine 2 tablespoons flour, white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix well, then add to apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated.
3.	Remove pie shell from freezer. Place apple mixture in pie shell and dot with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil lightly on top of filling, but do not seal.
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
5.	While filling is baking, make Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar, oats, and lemon peel. Mix thoroughly, then cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Remove filling from oven and sprinkle streusel on top.
6.	Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until streusel is browned and apples are tender. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.