‘Tis the holiday season! Right? I think November 8th counts as the holidays… but regardless, here is an awesome recipe for a new take on the classic apple pie! To catch everyone up on my week – I had a few friends over for a Halloween party last Friday (family Halloween photo below…) and spent a few days in Orlando, FL. It was my first time at Disney World so that was very exciting! I wish I could have gone as a child but it was still pretty freaking adorable to see all the little girls dressed up in their various princess costumes. Not gonna lie, made me want a baby. Kind of. But not really at the same time. Also saw my fair share of meltdowns at Disney this weekend so we will put that one off for a few years!

So back to cooking – if you want to try a new recipe for your Thanksgiving meal or maybe you just want to chow down on some awesome apple pie, try this recipe and let me know how it comes out!

Ingredients – Crumb Crust:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of almond meal (I used almond slices and crushed them with a mortar and pestle…)

1/2 cup of sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/2 sticks of butter

Ingredients – Apple Pie Filling:

5 Granny Smith apples, cut into small chunks (about 1/2 inch thick and wide)

1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup of granulated sugar (add a little extra if you like it sweet!)

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

pinch of ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 tbsp of butter

1/4 cup of caramel pieces

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and take out a pie dish. Lightly oil the pie dish and set aside.

2) Mix together the dry ingredients for the crumb crust in a medium bowl. Add the butter in small chunks and combine using your fingers or a pastry cutter (if you are feeling fancy). Cut the butter into the dough until it resembles small pea sized balls. Using half of the crumb dough, cover the bottom and sides of the pie dish. Place the dish in the freezer for 15 minutes while you continue with the apple filling.

3) Next, peel, core and slice your 5 Granny Smith apples. Place the chunks in a large bowl and add the caramel chunks, lemon juice, sugar, spices and salt until the apples are well-coated. Slowly pour the apple mix into the chilled pie crust and shape into a little mound in the center of the pie. Add the butter in tiny chunks around the center of the pie. Carefully, sprinkle the remaining crumb crust on top of the apples and cover completely.

4) Place in the center rack and bake for 60-75 minutes. When done, the top will be slightly golden brown and the juice from the apples will be bubbling out just a little bit. Tada! Now serve with some vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

What’s your favorite way to make apple pie? There are so many variations – I would love to hear the best ones from your family!

As promised, a picture of Boo Boo, Luke and I from Halloween. I just realized that an unknowing reader may think that Boo Boo is my dog and Luke is my boyfriend. I am disappointed (in myself) to admit that it’s the other way around. If you can’t tell from the pic, I am Princess Lea from Star Wars, Boo Boo is another Star Wars character (they are all the same to me so I don’t remember the name…) and Luke is an airplane. That is his wing that I am holding. He made a very cute airplane, I must say. I hope everyone had a great Halloween!