Grandma's Apple Crisp Pie {CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE}

Welcome to the all NEW and IMPROVED - CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE
October Challenge - APPLE PIE

We are in our second month of our second year of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE, you can read all about it and join in next month (it may be too late to make an Apple Pie for today, but you never know, some people are crazy cooks like me and can whip one out in no time at all.) But, for those of you who read about the challenge last month and are prepared to share your Apple Pie with us today, we are SO excited to see what you made.

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For those of you who have already participated this past year, you know how this is done, check out the NEW & IMPROVED information here. If you are new here come on over and check out how to jump on board this wild and crazy, CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE. You can read all the details and get all the codes for you to link up, join in and get this great linky party added to your CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE post.

Last month we made Ranch Dressing and next month we will be doing Stuffing Recipes (like Turkey Stuffing or some call it Dressing), ya know that stuff we all have on Thanksgiving day. But today it's all about apples and Apple Pie.

So, after another great day of fresh Apple Picking with a couple of friends (actually one of them are my twins girl friends, but since their away at college, I just steal their friends and call them my own). Nikki, Kristina and I had an awesome day picking apples, raspberries and then came home to bake all day.

Everyone who wishes to join in on this challenge, all you need to do is add the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE BUTTON (grab the code above) and make sure your Apple Pie includes the BLOG HOP Linky Party (code is below the linky party, click on BLOG HOP CODE) or you wont be able to link up. We hope you join us in this CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE....

Just an FYI - CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE is always on the 7th of every month and will post at MIDNIGHT. Here is a SNEAK PEAK for the next couple of months, so everyone can think ahead and be prepared for the themes.

November 7, 2012 - STUFFING Recipes (dressing)
December 7, 2012 - PERFECT SUGAR COOKIE
January 7, 2013 - FRENCH TOAST

I have been practicing all week with Apple Pies (the first one we made was this Dutch Apple Pie, it was SO GOOD I am not sure I can top it, but it was for the SRC and is already posted on my blog), so I keep trying to come up with an even bigger and better Apple Pie recipe. With one failed attempt, my husband suggested I call his mom (ya, don't ya love that). It's okay, I actually don't mind, she is a great cook and is more like a grandmother to me then my mother-in-law.

I called my mother-in-law and said her son said she made apple pie all the time when he was little and could I have her recipe. She had no idea what he was talking about (funny!). She is almost 80 years old but her memory is perfect and my husband is 51 years old, so between the both of them, who knows, she did say that she use to make apple crisp all the time. She found the recipe and now I've got it. YEAH for me, another family recipe passed down. The challenge though was for Apple Pie, so my brain went to work and the creation began, apple crisp turned into a beautiful Apple Crisp Pie.

Apple Crisp Pie
adapted by me, given to me by my mother-in-law Charlotte

Pastry Crust (from the Dutch Apple Pie)
1-1/4 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp butter, chilled and diced
5 tbsp ice water
1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp sugar (mix together)

Apple Pie Filling & Crumb Topping
4 cups sliced apples
1/4 cup hot water (or fresh apple cider)
1/2 cup butter (extra butter for bottom of crust)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar

vanilla ice cream
caramel syrup, drizzle

For the crust, in a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold diced butter over the dry ingredients, mix with a pantry knife, working the butter into the mixture, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in 5 tbsp water (more if needed) using the pastry knife or a fork incorporate it until the dough will hold together, without being too sticky. Flatten the dough into a round disk, and sandwich in between two pieces of wax paper, roll out into the desired shape (round) that will fit into your baking pie dish. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Transfer the dough to the round pie dish and press into the base and over the top of the edges of the dish. Trim the edges to extend 1/2 an inch over the lip of the dish. Mix together the 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of sugar and then sprinkle on pie crust. Place the dish into the freezer for 30 minutes until very firm and cold. Place the oven rack on the lower middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the apple slices into the cinnamon pie crust. Pour water (or apple cider) over the apples.  Cream together with a pastry knife the butter, flour and sugar to form crumbs.

Bake in a hot oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, then raise oven to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until top is brown and apples begin to crisp. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup.

To add the Linky Party to your post and join in this Blog Hop please grab the code by clicking on GET THE CODE HERE (below). If you are on word press that code will not work and you will need this code.

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