Applesauce Apple Pie

If you read the previous posts you will see that the journey through the "Pie" recipe book by Ken Haedrich is off to a bumpy start. I was pretty sure that digging into the apple recipes would be a pretty safe start. To date, the recipes have have not only been a bit strange, but one proved inedible.

Applesauce is a staple at our house. Every year in the fall I make about 30 quarts of applesauce which are usually gone by late spring. Never thought of using it in a pie so the Cinnamon Applesauce Pie recipe looked interesting and I hoped it would get me back on track to finding a good pie recipe.

The filling for the pie is made from eggs, egg yolks, sugar (granulated and brown), applesauce butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon (finally).

Result: Another strange one. I just could not get past the texture/taste combination. A custardy/applesauce texture that I cannot really describe. Try to think of pumpkin pie, but instead you have apple as the flavor. Perhaps more spices would have taken the pie in the right direction, or maybe it's an acquired taste. The pie was completely eaten and I guess for that reason it should be awarded at least two stars out of five.

I usually make a pie a weekend. As a family, we have decided that we need to move off the apple pie recipes as there are only so many consecutive weeks that you can be disappointed by pie. We got to get to something good and we got to get their quick; people are getting restless. Taking a look at the cream pies recipes. They look more like a sure thing.

Bach Journey

Made it through BWV 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 ,26, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37. Nifty organ Concerto and Sinfonia in BWV 35. The Bach to date is faring better than the pies. Bach was definitely no slouch.

Cheddar in the Crust

After the last debacle, any sensible person would shy away from trying to incorporate cheese into a pie. But for the greater good I press on. This time a Cheddar-Crusted Apple Pear Pie. The idea is to bake a bit of cheese into the crust to create the cheddar/apple experience. Additionally, pears are thrown into this recipe which should give an extended depth to the overall taste. The cheddar cheese crust is made by reducing the flour and pulsing shredded cheddar cheese into a traditional pie crust recipe with a food processor. The filling is a pretty standard apple pie filling recipe with sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, apples, and pears.

Result: While unlike the previous recipe, this pie was edible. However, I am done with incorporating cheese directly into recipes. The crust finishes with a cheesy, oily taste that does not match the traditional taste experience of apple pie and cheddar cheese. The pears added nothing special to the filling. The pie was screaming for some additional spices, cinnamon, nutmeg..., something. All in all an odd and uneventful pie. On the 5 star scale - 2 stars.