Baking Day - A Thanksgiving Apple Pie

All Photos - The Grower's Daughter

Tomorrow night is our second Thanksgiving dinner for my husbands side of the family.

It's going to be an intimate dinner and a nice quiet evening with family.

My mother-in-law is making the turkey and potatoes, my sister-in-law the vegetable sides, and I will be bringing desert and the stuffing (my favourite part).

We've already enjoyed a pumpkin pie so I thought I would bring something different. With our orchards full of delicious apples and luscious pears, I decided to make the most of the abundance of fruit and make an apple pie.

I've recently fallen in love with Donna Hay. Her cookbooks have quickly become a favourite of mine. The styling is gorgeous and the recipes are simple.

Today I used her recipe for Sweet Shortcrust Pastry. I then used my own recipe for Apple Pie Filling and voila! Dessert.

Here is the recipe below.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

2 cups plain flour

3 tbsp. caster (superfine) sugar

5 oz cold butter chopped

2 -3 tbsp. iced water

Filling

8 Green apples

1 tbsp. ground Cinnamon, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. plain flour

1 tbsp. water

Topping

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. raw sugar

1 tsp. ground Cinnamon

In the food processor, combine sugar, flour and butter. Pulse until it's the texture of fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add enough iced water to form a smooth dough and process until just combined. Knead dough lightly, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out 2/3 of dough and line plate. Mix filling ingredients together. Fill shell with filling and cover with remaining dough. Brush with a lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.

 I prefer the raw sugar on top to give the crust a delicious crunch!

I found this classic glass cake stand for $19 on my last trip down to Ohio. It's my new favourite.

Yesterday my husband, son and I went for a lovely afternoon hike at a local Provincial Park. It's peak time for the changing of the leaves here and we couldn't get enough of the brilliant fall colours and crisp fall air!