Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Mom and Dad gave me a few quarts of their homemade apple pie filling and I have been looking for good reasons to use it. When they came to visit I considered that a good reason.

So obviously for this recipe I just used a quart of pie filling which greatly simplified things, but I think the yumminess of this pie is in the crunchy topping with caramel. The other change I made was that I used walnuts instead of pecans and sprinkled them on before I baked them and they developed a great roasted flavor that way.

I got this off the Good Morning America website. It was the winner of the 2001 Apple Pie Contest.

Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie

For Pie:

pastry for single crust pie

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples

Crumb Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

Final Topping:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1. Prepare pie dough as directed. Place in pie plate & crimp edge

2. In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, & salt

3. Add apple slices & gently toss until they are coated well

4. Transfer mixture to pie crust

5. For Crumb Topping; stir together brown sugar, flour, and oats

6. Cut in butter until the topping resembles coarse crumbs

7. Sprinkle over pie

8. Cover edges with foil

9. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, remove foil, bake an additional 25-30 minutes

10. Remove from oven, sprinkle with nuts & drizzle with caramel

11. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

pecan-topped sweet potatoes

The picture really doesn't do this justice. Have I mentioned I have one 40 watt bulb in my kitchen to take pictures by? Ugh.

I had to put this on as a Thanksgiving recipe because it has become one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I never thought that I would want to save room for the sweet potatoes, or that I would eat them without the marshmallows. Even the kids like this. Cali liked it so much she wanted it as a family home evening treat. It really is more of a dessert, but once a year one should be able to enjoy a side-dish like this.

Pecan-Topped Sweet Potatoes

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup pecan pieces (I used walnuts because I have a walnut tree)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the first six ingredients and place into a 2-quart casserole. Combine last four ingredients and sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until crispy.

(You can 1 1/2 times the recipe to make a 9x13 pan.)