Friends came to visit and brought us some apples. That means making something with apples, since merely eating them is… well… merely eating them…

It’s fun seeing folks you haven’t seen in years. Bobby and I worked together at Vencor Hospital in San Leandro back in the late ’90s and early aught’s. (They changed the name of the hospital/corporation that owned it right around the time I was moving east.)

We’ve kept in touch online for quite a while and a few years back, he married a wonderful woman, Peg – who also became an online friend. The online part became real when we finally got to meet in person. It was love at first sight! We were already old friends by the time we got our first real huh and kiss. Gotta love the internet!

So here I am with apples and a desire to make something fun to commemorate the two who gave them to us…

After careful consideration, I decided the Frog Sour Cream Apple Pie was in order. I made it a couple of years ago and really liked the concept of thinly-slicing the apples instead of cutting them in chunks.

Frog Sour Cream Apple 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.

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 it 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.

Before deciding on the pie, I had pulled a piece of puff pastry from the freezer, also forgetting that I had a pie crust I had made the other day for a pumpkin pie. I always make the double crust recipe and had only used one…

So… Instead of making the streusel topping, I just used the puff pastry. It worked out great. In fact, after reading my post about the first pie I made, I think a double crust of any sort might be a better way to go with this one in the future. The streusel was good, but nothing to knock the socks off… And I do like my crust…

The only bad thing about this pie is it makes a really big pie. The filling is solid apples and small pieces are the only way to go – even for me. We’re going to be eating pie for several days.

Wait!! Pie for several days?!? Did I say this was bad?!?

I must be delusional.

Thanks, Bobby and Peg!