Of all the pies I have made in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever made a sour cream apple pie. Until today. I now have a new favorite pie.

Granted, just about any pie I happen to be eating is my favorite pie of the moment, but this one really is special. I’m impressed.

It’s put together differently than I usually do, and since the recipe stated “thinly-sliced tart apples” I used my mandoline to get a thin, uniform cut on all of them. A winner.

Everything about this pie worked – from the flaky crust to the still-crisp but fully-cooked apples. The only thing I might change next time I make it – and I will make it again – will be to crumble the butter into the streusel a bit more and add a few more walnuts. But it was prit-near perfect the way it was.

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Flaky Pastry for Pie Crusts

adapted from Frog Commissary Cookbook

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp lard and butter mix (equal parts of both)
  • 2 tbsp ice water

Place flour, butter, lard, and salt on counter. Cut butter and lard into flour until ity is coarse and crumbly. Add 2 tbsp water and mix well. Gather into a ball and roll into a 12″ circle. Place in pie plate and crimp edges.

If you want, use your food processor to cut the fat into the flour. It’s easier.

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Apple Sour Cream Streusel Pie

adapted from Frog Commissary Cookbook

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 stick cold butter
  • 1/2 cup coarsely-chopped walnuts

Filling:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 cups thinly-sliced tart apples

Putting it together:

Streusel:

Combine sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Toss with walnuts. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9″ pie plate with pie dough. Mix together flour, sugar, and eggs. Add the sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon rind. Mix well.

Stir in the apple slices, making sure to coat them all well. Place in the pie shell and bake in lower third of oven about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with streusel topping. Return pie to oven and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.

This is another recipe that took a couple of extra steps but was so worth it.

It really is restaurant-quality food you can make at home.

I’m old enough to remember when folks had dinner parties and they spent most of the day cooking and making desserts from scratch. No one would have dreamed of buying frozen pre-made appetizers and dinner most definitely would not have come out of a box. Today, it’s all about “convenience” – which translates to overly-processed-soy-lecithin-and-carrageenan-laced franken-food. An organic Pop Tart is still a nutritionally unsound food choice.

So I have my new friend, and I plan on making a few more of the recipes. The salad dressings, alone are worth the price of the book. And home-made avocado mayonnaise!

I’m going to have me some fun!