Crumb Apple Pie {A Recipe Re-do Blog Hop}

So this is a recipe re-do. I made it in the first few months of this blog. And, well, I'm not proud of how the post looks. When Ashton mentioned doing a re-do post and making it a blog hop, I knew immediately that I was going to re-make this pie.

You see, this pie is special. One, my husband loves it. He cannot turn it down (and ate two slices of it).

And two, it's the pie that inspired the blog name. Because we love the crust and the crumb of this pie more than the apple filling and one night, chowing down, the idea for a crust-loving store/site/something was born.

And now, here I am, a few years later, working on that dream.

So this pie needed a new place here on this site. Badly.

Plus, it's always good to re-do some things in life. What would you re-do, if you could?

~Read More~

Apple Toffee Bars {with Brown Sugar Frosting}

There are approximately 750 light switches in my house.

(Okay, I may be exaggerating a little. I haven't had a chance to count them all, so I was just guessing.)

So, there are plenty of switches. But the problem I'm having is where they were placed. I'm not an architect or a fancy electrical switch placement designer or anything, but I do have common sense.

And the fancy electrical switch placement designer that did our house must have been having an off day.

Our staircase is in the middle of the house; you can walk around it. When you come in the front door and go left, you get to the dining room and then the kitchen. If you go right, you go to the family room and then the kitchen.

We never go left. Why not? Because all the light switches for the kitchen are in the family room. So if it's dark and I forget I have to walk through the kitchen to get to the lights.

But if I'm in the laundry room, a room that is no bigger than the span of my arms, there are two light switches for the overhead light. So I can, in theory, stretch out my arms and turn the light on with my right and off with my left at the same time.

I chuckle every time I go in there. It's like a fun party game. That and sliding down the stairs in a plastic bin, which I have yet to do but I really, really want too.

Until I get up the nerve to do that, I'll just stuff my face with these babies. These Apple Toffee Bars are sort of like a cookie, but in bar form. With frosting. Brown sugar frosting. And toffee. Oh, and apple, of course. Sinfully sweet, and healthy enough for breakfast because there is fruit in them. Right?

Apple Toffee Bars {with Brown Sugar Frosting}

Adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the bars:

1 pouch (17.5 ounces) sugar cookie mix

1 egg

1 stick of butter, softened

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup toffee bits (Bit o’ Brickle)

1 cup (1 large or 2 small) apples, peeled, cored, and chopped finely

For the Frosting:

¼ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon milk

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2.       Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat sugar cookie mix, egg, butter, and cinnamon until fluffy. Stir in toffee bits and apples. Press into prepared pan and bake 35-40 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before making frosting.

3.       To make the frosting, add butter, milk, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cool slightly and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.

4.       Remove foil from the bottom of the cookie bars. Pour frosting over the top of the bars, smoothing out to the edges. The top of the frosting will dry quickly. Let set before cutting into bars, about 30 minutes to one hour.

Yield: about 20 bars

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff)

Apple Crumb Cookies

So...Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Which means you're all ready for food, football, and family drama, right?

You know what I'm ready for? A cocktail or 6 Pie, of course!

Since it took this blog awhile to get off it's hind legs, most of you probably aren't familiar with my inspiration and why I named this site what I did. It really all started with this pie.

{Don't judge my pictures! I didn't know what "natural light" meant at the time.}

Anyway, Apple Crumb Pie is kinda what I'm "famous" for in my family. It should actually be called "Crumb Apple" because let's be honest. The crumb is the best part (well, that and the crust, that is). I started making it so many years ago I can't remember when. I originally followed a recipe from this old cookbook of my moms, a red-checkered Better Homes & Garden one from so many years ago. I've changed and altered it so much over time that I now consider it my own.

I know, I know. This post is about cookies. I've gotten a little off topic. But not really.

Because I made my apple crumb pie, but in cookie form.

Same yummy apple-crust-crumb flavor, but in a small, delectable bite.

And it's super heavy on the crumb-crust, thankyouverymuch. Right up my alley.

I cook my apples before I put them in pie, so I did the same. Layer some cooked Grannies on a sweet pie dough (or use store-bought, I won't judge), sprinkle with crumble, roll, slice, and bake. Oh and then drizzle with white chocolate.  Because all that crumb isn't sweet enough.

What can I say? Much like me most of the time, they needed a good accessory to complete the look.

So if you need something to take to your Great-Aunt Hilda's tomorrow...now you have it.

Go ahead. Chase your turkey-stuffing-mashed potato self with one or two or six of these little guys. It's what Thanksgiving is all about!

Apple Crumb Cookies

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1 ¼ cups flour

¼ cup sugar

½ cup cold butter, diced

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup ice water

OR

1 store-bought crust (from a package of two)

For the Crumb:

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Garnish:

¼ cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       To make the crust: add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water slowly until mixture comes together to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until the rest of your ingredients are ready.

2.       To make the Crumb: add butter, flour, and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut it with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a pastry cutter for this step.

3.       To make the filling: peel and dice apple. Place in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar and cook for about 3 minutes, just until apples start to lose their whiteness. Remove from heat.

4.       To assemble cookie: roll out crust on a lightly floured surface. Top evenly with apples. Cover apples with crumble. Roll tightly and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least one hour. (You can stick it in the freezer to speed up this step.)

5.       Preheat oven to 350°. Remove chilled cookie roll from refrigerator and cut into ½” slices. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake until golden, about 12-18 minutes. Let cool.

6.       To garnish: melt the while chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Transfer to a Ziploc bag and snip off one corner. Pipe onto cookies and let harden before serving.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff)

Peanut Butter Caramel Apple Dip

My cat snores. Loudly.

The other morning I was awakened from a sound, dream-filled sleep to what sounded like someone screaming in my ear. I thought Jordan was having a nightmare. She wasn't.

What makes it even more special is that kitty likes to sleep in the corner of the bed...behind my head.

Every time I hear her snoring like a truck driver I wonder how such a sound comes out of a nine-pound animal. I want to record her so bad but she has a knack for her loudness at 3am, and I'm just not ready for video recording at that time of night.

This really has nothing to do with this dip, except that this dip is just slightly more amazing than her snoring.

It's peanut butter. And caramel. Oh, and some chocolate chips. Can't forget the chocolate!

It's good with apples. Or pretzels. Or on a spoon.

Peanut Butter Caramel Apple Dip

Ingredients:

1 bag caramel squares (about 45), unwrapped

1/3 cup whipping cream and 1/3 cup nonfat milk OR 2/3 cup half and half

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       Add the caramels and whipping cream/milk or half and half to a medium saucepan. Heat over low heat and stir until the caramels have melted into the cream (about 8-10 minutes).

2.       Meanwhile, add peanut butter and chocolate chips to a medium microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30-45 seconds and stir to combine.

3.       Add hot caramel mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine. Serve with apple slices, graham crackers and/or pretzels. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 2 cups of dip

Enjoy!

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff)

S'more Caramel Apples

I snapped this picture the other day while in my daughters bathroom:

It got me to thinking. Who would win in a Princess fight? (I know, totally inappropriate. But funny and entertaining!)

I mean, Belle has obviously got a leg up on Ariel. Poor Ariel didn't really have a chance with that whole tail thing.

I see Jasmine as a good fighter, if she needed to be. I mean, she has a pet tiger and all. And she dated a self-proclaimed "street rat."

I wouldn't count out Cinderella either. After all those years of domestic work, she's probably got some good muscles going on under that drab house dress.

Rapunzel has the magical braid. She can do anything with that thing. I think it would hurt if it hit you upside the head.

Aurora...she's the wild card. All those years in the princess protection program, singing to the birds in the forest may have softened her. But it's always the meek ones that end up taking out the whole fight club, right?

Don't even get me started on Barbie and Bratz. I don't think the Princesses would stand a chance against them.

Anyway, this is where I would segue into the recipe for these S'more Caramel Apples...but I've got nothing. I'm not quite sure how to get from Princess Smackdown to this yummy "Summer, meet Fall" recipe. Because that's really what it is. The last few bites of Summer, all wrapped up into a nice Fall package.

I think caramel apples are the easiest treat to make. All you do is melt some caramels and roll an apple in it. Easy but absolutely delicious. And now for the fun stuff...

The winner of the Mini Pie Maker is...

Something Swanky said...

Tweeted this giveaway

September 22, 2011 1:12 PM 

Ashton at Something Swanky, you won! :) Email me your contact info and I'll send you your new mini pie maker.

S’more Apples

Recipe by Crazy for Crust

Ingredients:

5 medium Granny Smith apples, washed and well dried

5 wooden sticks or popsicle sticks

1 bag (11-oz) caramel bits (or squares, unwrapped)

2 Tablespoons water

4 graham cracker sheets

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       Finely grind graham crackers in a food processor until only a fine crumb remains. Place in a shallow bowl and set aside. Put marshmallows and chocolate chips on two separate plates and set aside. Put your sticks in the center of your apples. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

2.       Heat caramel bits and water over medium heat. Stir until melted (about 3-5 minutes). Once melted, turn the heat very low (you want to keep the caramel warm).

3.       Working quickly, one apple at a time, dip in caramel. You may need to tip the pan and/or use a spoon to help you cover the entire thing. Dip the bottom half of the caramel apple in the graham cracker crumbs. Roll the top half in the chocolate chips and then the marshmallows. Place it on the cookie sheet. Add more marshmallows or chocolate chips where there are gaps. Repeat with remaining apples.

4.       Chill until hardened, at least 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator. These look really cute as gifts, wrapped in a cellophane bag. You will probably have some caramel left over. Use it to dip apple slices in (or eat with a spoon).

Yield: 5 apples

Enjoy!

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Party Mindy Style (Bacon Time...). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters)

Caramel Apple Hand Pies (and a giveaway!)

Yesterday was my one year blogiversary! I really can't believe it's been a whole year of baking and posting.  It's been so amazing (virtually) meeting so many other bloggers and finding a place in such a great community.

A year ago I was in a strange place. My daughter had just started Kindergarten and I kept getting asked about what I was going to do now that she was in school. I knew I didn't want to go back to teaching. I wanted to continue staying home, but also I wanted to find something for me. Everything I'd been doing for the previous five years had been about my daughter. I knew I wanted to be doing something creative, but had no idea what.

Now, one year later, I know what my passion is. I know what I want to do when I grow up. Baking and blogging make me happy. Sure, spending time with my daughter does too, but there is something about spending time creating food and writing about it that is magical for me. I don't know what sort of a job I'll be in five years from now but I do know that it will, in some way, include my baking and this blog. Thank you all for continuing on this journey with me.

Now I may not admit this openly, (oops, I'm about to) but I love presents on birthdays and anniversaries.  (Come on, you know you all think that way too...right?) So because it's my blogiversary...I'm giving you a present!

I saw this cute petite pie maker at Sur la Table last month. I had to have one. I mean, it makes personal pies. How could I not have one? And, I grabbed two because I knew I'd want to share one with you all, my readers.

It's super simple to use - just roll out your pie dough and press to cut cute little scalloped circles. Fill with any filling and press again to seal. Bake and eat. It's a perfect individual dessert maker.

I made caramel apple pies with mine. Apple is one of my favorite pies and it's that time of year - caramel apple time. (And yes, I did use a fork to eat mine. Makes it last longer.)

Want to win this cute petite pie maker? (I mean, why wouldn't you? It presses a heart into the dough!)

****The giveaway is now closed****

You have four ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Leave a comment here. Any comment at all.
2. Do you follow me somehow? On Google Friend Connect, RSS, Facebook, or Twitter? Leave a separate comment and let me know. (Just once for any/all of the listed methods.)
3. Tweet this giveaway (include @crazyforcrust in your tweet) and then come back here and leave another comment saying you did.
4. Blog or post to Facebook about this giveaway, linking to this page. Then come back here and leave a comment to let me know you did.

Giveaway is open until the end of the day on Sunday, September 25th. I will pick a winner using random.org and announce it on Monday, September 26th.

Caramel Apple Hand Pies

Crust recipe by AllRecipes, filling recipe by Crazy for Crust

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust (from a box of two) OR use the following recipe for crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, diced and chilled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ice water
2 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon tapioca (for thickening), optional
2 tablespoons caramel sauce

Directions:

1. Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture becomes coarse. Add the water slowly, one tablespoon at a time, while running the machine until dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Peel and slice the apples thin. Place them, with 1 teaspoon of water, in a skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 3 minutes until the apples just begin to lose their very white color. Drain off excess liquid. Stir in tapioca if you are using it. Set aside.
3. Roll out your crust on a floured surface. Open the petite pie press completely and place it, scalloped side down, on the crust. Punch out two circles. Place one circle in the bottom half of the press. Add half the apple filling. Top with 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce. Place the second crust round on top and press the lid down. You may need to use a little water to help seal the edges. Repeat with rest of crust.  Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes. Serve warm (with ice cream, if desired).

*If you don't have a petite pie maker you can do the same thing by pressing out two circles of crust, adding your filling to the center and then use a fork to press the edges together.

Yield: 2 hand pies

Fine Print: I was not compensated in any way for this giveaway. I just wanted to give you all something I like. But hey, Sur la Table, if you're listening I'm always open to a sponsored giveaway! ;)

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Fusion Fridays (Jane Deere). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters)

***The giveaway is now closed.****