Apple Pie

One of my favorite things about fall is apple pie. Although it feels nothing like fall in LA right now, I wanted to try to recreate it with a tasty pie. So I took a break from cleaning, organizing and packing for my move and baked. I am so glad I did! Following is a recipe I put together using inspiration from various pie recipes I've read recently. We had Splenda Brand Sugars for baking in the pantry in and I decided to try them here. It worked out really well and I like the idea of cutting the amount of sugar in half. It should work just as well with regular sugar and the measurements are in parentheses below.

Apple Pie

No Fail Pie crust
5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar (or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup Splenda white sugar (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice or juice from 1 lemon
4 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees. Place the pie crust in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Toss sliced apples with lemon juice. Mix the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and flour in a separate bowl. Toss dry ingredients with the apples and lemon juice. Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Roll out pie crust and place in pie plate. Carefully pour apple mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Cover with a second crust, making sure to cut steam vents in the top. It's also festive to decorate with leaf or other fall-inspired cutouts.
4. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet and into the heated oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. Then lower the heat to 350 degrees, remove foil and bake for another 40-50 minutes until the filling is bubbling and apples are tender.
5. Remove to a wire wrack and let cool for 1 hour, serving while still warm.

While apple pie isn't exactly brain surgery, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the bite the ginger added to this pie and how well it balanced out the sweetness of the brown sugar. If you like apple pie, you have to try this one. Enjoy!