Recipe Review: Walnut Apple Pie

 Every year around Christmas my husband and I plan to make a lavish, multi-course meal just for the two of us. We try to always choose recipes from our Christmas cookbook by "Taste of Home." All of the recipes in this book look mouth-wateringly delicious and inevitably makes me want to go on a cooking-spree, trying to create every single dish. The dessert that we picked for this year is called “Walnut Apple Pie.”

My husband absolutely adores pie. When it comes to choosing between pie and cake, he would choose pie. As for me? What would I choose? Well… I don’t know. They both are so amazing that I would feel torn to make a decision. So that is my answer. I adore both. Absolutely.

Now, this was the first pie I have ever made. And I knew that I wanted to use my mom’s famous recipe to make the crust. Her crust always turns out so flakey and delightful, so I put my best foot forward in attempting to achieve this as well. What is my mom’s pie crust recipe? Drum roll please….dddrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….. It is….. The “Tenderflake” recipe that you can find on the back of the box!

Not such a unique or secret, exciting recipe, I know, but it does taste incredible when it is done correctly. How would I rate my crust? I would say it turned out okay. I realized too late that I did not roll out my dough to be perfectly even. Some areas were thicker than others. And when I went to form the dough into the pie dish it was a little short on one end. Therefore, I thought to myself, “Just take the leftover pieces of dough and attach it to the shorter edges. That it will lengthen it. Yeah, I am sure that will be ok.” Well it was not perfect that is for sure. When the pie was finished baking, that particular side of the crust had cracked. And my eyes filled with tears as my first pie was not as beautiful as I had hoped. However, I did learn my lesson. Always ensure your dough is evenly rolled out to fit over your baking dish.

Also, the dough should be rolled until it is approximately half an inch thick, in my opinion. As for the decorative edge, I took one of my forks and pressed lines into the dough to give it some creative flair.

Next was the filling! The perfect combination of syrupy sweetness followed by a slight fruity essence. The flavours reminded me of the filling in a classic pecan pie, but better. It was buttery, it was creamy, it was sugary, it was comforting, it was crunchy and it was slightly tart. This part of the recipe I was very proud of. I chose not to put a crust on top of the pie and wanted to expose the lovely filling to the hot oven. The aromas that filled our kitchen were astounding. Scents of caramelized apples and cinnamon wafted around the room, creating a cozy, heart-warming atmosphere.

When I pulled the pie out of the oven, it was bubbling so beautifully that I had to control myself to wait to eat this work of art.

Once cooled and the filling has been at least somewhat set, you can pair this delight with vanilla ice cream and/or whipping cream. Or just enjoy this delicacy on its own. Prepare for your taste buds to be blown away.

WARNING: the filling can be quite runny when eaten warm. But those juices will work as an amazing topping for your scoop of ice cream.

In summary, I would highly recommend for anyone to try to recreate this pie. Yes, mine was not perfect, but the flavours of the flakey crust did work well with the sweet, delicate filling. As I said before, there is a luxurious crunch from the walnuts, a tartness from the apples and a caramel-like sweetness from the brilliant sauce. Would I make this again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat.

Enjoy!

BONUS NOTE: Blog will be coming soon for ideas on what to do with leftover pie dough! Stay tuned!