As we approach the end of summer and head towards fall, I start to think about pie season. Of course, you can make a pie any time of year, but there is something about baking a sweet apple pie while the leaves outside are turning golden and red that just feels right. One tool that comes into play when you’re working with apples is the ... Read More »
Spices all have distinctive flavors and add a lot of character to baked goods (and other recipes). Sometimes we’ll encounter one spice on its own in a recipe, but often spices are paired up with other complementary spices to build a solid flavor base for a dish. A great example of this is pumpkin pie spice, a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg that ... Read More »
Classic apple pie is made with two buttery, flaky pie crusts sandwiching a sweet and spicy apple filling. It is delicious, but it’s not the only classic apple pie out there. I have met many people who would choose an apple pie with a crumb topping over the double-crust classic any day. Personally, I wouldn’t turn down either pie and consider them both to be ... Read More »
There are many reasons to like pumpkin pie, from the flavor of the pumpkin itself to the spices to the consistency. The consistency is probably the most unique thing about pumpkin pie. It is a custard – made with eggs and milk – but one that is made thick with the addition of pumpkin puree. Sweet potato pie is just about the only other pie ... Read More »
Whenever I bake or serve an apple pie and my grandmother is around, she always tries to convince me to put cheese on top of it. Cheese – especially cheddar cheese – and apples are a great combination general, so even though it might sound like an odd pairing as far as pie goes, the salty flavor of the cheese goes pretty well with the ... Read More »
When I made my big batch of cranberry applesauce last week, I wasn’t sure what do do with all of it. I’m not really into canning and, when I make something like applesauce or jam, I prefer just to work my way through it right away. Jam is more limited in its uses, but applesauce can have a variety of applications beyond being a simple ... Read More »
Two of the most common spice mixes are apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice. The combination of spices that make up each blend is so commonly used (because they are complimentary) when baking with apples and pumpkin that the blends are packaged and sold alongside “regular” spices in the baking aisle of the supermarket. They are frequently called for in recipes without much explaination of what ... Read More »
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