Apple Praline Pie

Last month I was approached about baking one of my favorite recipes for a charity pie auction. Because I love to bake pies, and because it was for a good cause, I agreed. Today was the big day. I wanted to make a family favorite, and I did a step-by-step Apple Praline Pie tutorial for all of you. First I peel, core and slice 8 cups of Granny Smith Apples. Luckily I own this handy dandy contraption to make quick work of it.

When I make a pie in my house, EVERYONE gets to partake in some way. Here are my scraps from the apples, minus the apple cores.

After the peeling work is done, I have my kids feed the scraps to the chickens. They gobble them right up! They can eat everything but the seeds. The hens love a tasty treat every now and then!

After I've got my apples in a bowl, I mix 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl.

I pour it over my apples, mix, and set the bowl aside so my apples can begin to make delicious juices while I work on my crust.

Next, I make a double pie crust recipe, divide the dough in half, and roll out the bottom crust.

Then I carefully arrange all the apple filling into the crust. It should look heaping, because the apples will shrink during baking.

Next, I roll out the top crust, put it on the filling, trim, and pinch the edges. The power's in the pinch. You've got to develop your own technique with pie pinching. My mom passed down her pinching technique to me. Because this pie is going to be covered in gooey toppings, I make sure to make the crust a little higher than usual so the deliciousness won't drip off of the edges.

I put a pie shield on the crust and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1/2 an hour. Then I take the shield off and let it bake for another 3o minutes. During it's last 5 minutes of baking I make the praline topping. It consists of butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 and 1/2. When it comes to a boil, I remove it from the heat and add 1/2 cup of pecans. (Walnuts are delicious too!)

I take the pie out of the oven, pour the praline caramel topping on and put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Voila! A delicious pie from scratch! There is nothing better than warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream beside it! I'd show you pictures, but I'm afraid this pie won't be devoured by my family. It's off to the pie auction in a few hours! A homemade pie made with love for the highest bidder!

Enjoy!