My favorite apple pie recipe is the old faithful from Joy of Cooking.  And I have a confession to make.  I always use store-bought pie crust.  I made a pie crust from scratch once, but the next time, I needed a shortcut, so I bought one at the store (the rolled ones, not the ones already in the pans). I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two, so I’ve never gone back!  I’m a firm believer in making things from scratch when you can really tell the difference.  But I also believe in taking shortcuts when you CAN’T tell the difference!

So without further ado, my favorite Apple Pie.

Ingredients

• 5-6 large apples (not, my hubby ate some of my apples, so this pie only had 4 apples)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2-3 tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 store bought piecrust (two for top/bottom) or your favorite homemade crust

Directions

Slice up apples

Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt.  Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring several times.

Lay out pie crust in a pie pan.

Fill pie crust with the apple filling. Dot the filling with butter.

Vent the top crust.

Lay the top crust on the pie and crimp the edges.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Slip a baking sheet under the pie, reduce to 350 degrees and bake until the fruit feels just tender, 30-45 minutes more.  Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Are you in the market for a quick and easy dessert?  I’ve got one for you!  I found this on Bakerella’s website, but it’s actually a Betty Crocker original using two Betty Crocker mixes: Betty Crocker’s chocolate chip cookie mix and Betty Crocker’s Hershey Original Supreme Brownies.  You can find the recipe here.

First, you make the two mixes according to the boxes.

Pour the brownie mix into a pan and drop spoonfuls of the cookie dough mixture into the brownie batter.

Bake 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. When they come out, they’ll look like this:

Next, whip up a little ganache (heat 6 Tbsps butter and 3/4 cup of heavy whipping creame in a bowl until just before boiling and pour over 12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips.  Let it sit for 20 seconds and stir until smooth.) and pour over brownies.  Let them cook COMPLETELY before cutting.

YUMMMMM!