From Classic to Personal: My Apple Pie Journey

In the world of baking, I must admit, I am no master chef. I am known for baking just a few things. They are pies, boxed cakes, and Pillsbury cookies.

However, there’s one thing I can proudly claim as my specialty — apple pie. As a baker, this dessert has become my pride and joy. I used the pages of the Joy of Cooking cookbook to start me off . Through the years, I changed the traditional recipe into a personal creation. Before we go any farther, I must admit, my pie crust is frozen. Yes, sorry, this is not a fully recipe with a homemade crust. I haven't graduated to that level of baking.

But, believe me when I say that will some of my creative add ons, this is a really yummy pie!

The tapioca and almond extract combo takes my American classic to a whole new level. First, I look for 5 to 6 nice, ripe Granny Smith apples. They are the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness, with a splash of lemon.

I have McCormick Vanilla extract and organic almond extract on hand, two of my favorites. The Kraft Minute Tapioca adds the perfect consistency and prevents the pie from becoming to soupy. As for sweetness, I’ve learned that white sugar is the best choice. I tried brown sugar and I just didn't get the same kind of sweetest. And of course, I use the richness of Land O Lakes butter to add that extra cube on the top of the crust for the golden bake.

After peeling the apples and placing them in a large bowl, I gently stir in the white sugar, ensuring each apple is thoroughly coated. Give it a good stir to make sure each apple slice is coated with the sugar and spices. I add McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice. This delightful spice mix, featuring cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. I love these spices with baked apples.

I preheat the oven to 450°F and bake for about 10 minutes. Then, I lower the temperature to 350°F (adjust as per your oven) and continue baking for 35 minutes, while checking occasionally.

Finally, my beautiful, Almond flavored pie is ready, with a perfect balance of apple, cinnamon, and a hint of almond. No runny mess!

If you like this recipe, the above photo is my recipe card for all of you.

One thing that will will learn about me is, I am a watercolor artist and illustrator. I love to illustration food. So when I bake an apple pie, I will pull out my paints, canvas and brushes to capture my apple pie.

Apple pie is one of the best pies to be served at holidays. Even though the Apple pie is known for being on the tables of American holidays, it was first originated in England.

It was the colonists that brought this heavenly pie to America in the the 17th century. Back in those days, apple pies where baked with no sugar. Sorry, I just can't imagine having apple pie without sugar. The pilgrims used fruits that were very sweet like figs to add that sweet sugary taste.

The apple pie recipe was in one of the first American cookbooks with two different recipes, the American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, which was published in 1796. The apple pie has come a long way and with bakers using own flavors, the apple pie will continue to evolve.

If you are interested in giving this a try. Here is my own version of Homemade Apple Pie.

Hopefully this Apple pie will be added to your holiday dessert table!

This was previously published on Medium.