Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and has 4,138 of 5-star reviews.  Beat that, huh!!!  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-pie-by-grandma-ople/detail.aspx

"Grandmas from all around can be proud of this unique recipe that brings fabulous results.  Sliced apples are mounded in a prepared pie shell, covered with a latticed crust, and just before slipping into the oven, doused with a sugary butter syrup."

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie (I use the crust listed in my own list and has my sister Nadine's name in it).

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).  Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Stir in flour to form a paste.  Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil.  Reduce temperature and let simmer.

2.  Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.  Cover with a lattice work crust.  Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust.  Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

3.  Bake 15 minutes in in the preheated oven.  Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Continue baking for 35-35 minutes, until apples are soft.

Nadine's Fresh Apple Cake (stays SO moist!)

Apple cake frosted with browned butter cream cheese frosting...

 Above and below:  Recipe baked in bundt pan.

 Below:  Recipe baked in 9x13" pan, 
frosted with "quicker" browned butter frosting.

If you happen to own an apple peeler like the one shown below

you will be able to get this cake into the oven with 

little effort and less time spent doing it.

My sister Nadine often brought a pan of this apple cake for us when she'd come up from Arkansas.  It is SO moist, and SO good!  Here's the recipe for it.  I'm happy that she shared it with me.

Ingredients and Directions 

Combine, set aside and let soak for 1 hour (some bakers skip this actual "soaking step" and just proceed as if they had "soaked" them):

4 cups peeled and chopped apples
1 cup "Omega" kind of vegetable oil (OR you favorite vegetable oil).
1 and 1/2 cups sugar  (Original recipe calls for 2 cups, but I did not miss the 1/2 cup I left out.)

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After the "soaking time" is up for the chopped apples in the oil and sugar, slightly beat 2 eggs and add to the apple mixture.  Also, add 1 teaspoon Vanilla, and stir in.

In a separate container, combine the following dry ingredients: 

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon allspice (Opinion:  For the best tasting cake, do not substitute with any other spice.)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Blend the dry ingredients into the apple mixture.

Fold in 1 cup raisins OR chopped dates and 1 cup chopped pecans OR walnuts.  (OR you can add flaked coconut, too!)  Tip:  If my raisins or dates seem too firm, I would just add them to the apple/sugar/oil soak at the beginning of this recipe.

Bake at 325-degrees for "about" 1 hour if you choose to bake this in a greased and floured Bundt pan.  

Optional baking method:  I sometimes bake this cake in a 9x13x2-inch greased and floured pan for just under one hour-- but check your cake for doneness with a toothpick or very clean/sharp knife at just under 1 hour.  If knife/toothpick comes out clean, it should be done.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

If you really want to put something on this cake and want a topping that seems  made-to-order for just this kind of cake, see the two options below... 

Apple Cake GLAZE

Bring just to a rolling boil 1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk), 1/2 stick butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla or rum flavoring and stir well.  Pour this hot mixture on hot cake fresh from the oven and sprinkle with slivered almonds or pecans.  Cool.

OR

A "QUICKER" BROWNED BUTTER FROSTING:

Heat ½ stick butter in pan over medium heat and watch closely while stirring until the butter turns golden brown in color.  Then,...quickly add to the hot/browned butter about two tablespoons of milk to stop the browning, and then stir in some SIFTED powdered sugar till you have the amount and consistency of frosting you need.  It may be necessary to add tiny amounts of more milk to get a smooth texture.   I poured "ribbons" of this frosting from end-to-end over the still warm (but not hot) cake.   Once this kind of frosting hits the cake's surface, it cannot be spread without making a mess.  Again, you have to get this type of frosting onto the cake very quickly before it thickens too much to pour it on.

Oh, my goodness!!!!!-- this cake is so 

delicious with a browned butter cream 

cheese frosting, too!

This cake freezes well, too.

Apple Bundles*

I didn't know anything this simple to make could taste so goooooooood!  Really,...just crescent roll dough, apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon and a can of citrus soda??

Since this is more the 'old time' version of apple dumplings, 

their bottom ends up 'slightly soft/soggy' (on purpose).  

*This is a favorite dessert of our 

Grandson-in-law, Steven Schloemer!!

Yield: 16 Apple Dumplings **

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored (any other 'firm' apple will do)
• 2 of 10 oz. cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 of 12 fluid ounce can or bottle of Mountain Dew® (I used a can of Sierra Mist®)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13" baking dish.
2.  Peel, core, and cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside.
3.  Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles.
4. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end.  Pinch to seal all edges and place in the baking dish.
5. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugars and cinnamon-- heat until very smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.   Pour over the apple dumplings.
6. Pour soda over the dumplings and sauce.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.  

Just before going into the oven, they look like this 
(the 'lighter color' is from the fizzy in the soda)...

When they come out of the oven, 

they will look like this...

E-n-j-o-y.............

**Adapted from an apple dumpling recipe submitted by docs wife from Morganfield, Kentucky.