The Autumn air is crisp, the leaves are falling and the apples are ready for harvest. Its time to pack the family up and take a drive to the apple orchards and partake of the yearly tradition of picking apples.
In California we would take a drive to Apple Hill towards Lake Tahoe and pick apples and buy “mile high” apple pie. Those apple pies were stacked high with apples layered with cinnamon in between flaky buttery pie crusts.
In New York we would drive upstate and stroll through apple orchards while sipping hot apple cider and hot apple donuts rolled in cinnamon. I have fond memories of sitting outside in the cold November air around a fire with friends. We were warmed by our scarves and steaming cup of hot apple cider with the fire flickering in front of us.
Here in Italy you can drive far up north towards the Alps and see apple trees trained to grow on a horizontal espalier in Trentino. This style is a horticultural practice of controlling apple trees or other woody plants to increase production. The plant is strictly pruned to grow flat against a frame horizontally and vertically. This far north the Italian cuisine is greatly influenced by their German and Austrian neighbors, this means sausage, sauerkraut and apple strudel!
Italians in my area near Rome love a torta or cake with apples but cinnamon is rarely present. So the traditional American Apple Pie is a novelty and who could resist all those layers of apples dancing with cinnamon on your tongue. Made perfect by a flaky butter crust that provides the vehicle transporting those apple slices from the pastry on your plate to your ever waiting watering mouth!
i hope you give my recipe a try and enjoy the smell of cinnamon as it fills your kitchen.
American Apple Pie
Ingredients:
4-5 apples
1/4 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons of butter
Flaky butter pie crust for a double crust pie or purchased pie crust
Instructions:
Peel and slice the apples, removing the core. Place apples in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together. Toss the flour sugar mixture with the apples.
Meanwhile roll out the pastry dough and place on a pie plate. Fill the pie plate with the apples mixed with the sugar. Slice a few slices of butter on top of the apples for a little extra buttery kick. Top with a second layer of pie crust or you can give the lattice weave a shot like the pictures below.
Top with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and bake in a 350 F oven for 50 minutes or until apples are fork tender. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
You may want to try one of our other dinner recipes from our Archives:
Babaganush (Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Dip) Published July 29, 2017
Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce (Published August 18, 2017)
Saltimbocca (Roman Style Veal Scallopini) (Published February 18, 2018)
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad (Bun Bo Xoa) Published March 12, 2018)
Spiced Chickpea Salad with Roasted Cauliflower (Published April 22, 2018)
Steamed Mussels and Fettuccine (Cozze e Fettuccine) Published May 4, 2019)
Shrimp Risotto (Risotto alla Gamberi) Published June 2, 2018)
Pasta Carbonara (Published May 12, 2018)
Arancini (Italian Fried Rice Balls) Published June 4, 2018)
Ossobuco alla Milanese (Milan Style Veal Shanks & Saffron Risotto) Published June 20, 2018)
Lasagna Bolognese (Published Aug 3, 2018)
Kung Pao Chicken (Published August 23, 2018)
Eggplant Parmesan (Published August 29, 2018)
Gyoza (Potstickers or Chinese Dumplings) Published August 27,2018)
Cacio e Pepe (Published August 28, 2018)
Southern Fried Chicken (published September 11, 2018)
Shrimp Tacos (Published September 19, 2018)
Pesto Genovese (published September 21, 2018
Beef Bone Broth (published September 24, 2018)
The Classic American Hamburger (published September 25, 2018)
Oven Roasted Herb Chicken (published September 29, 2018)
Pumpkin Ravioli (published October 2, 2018)
Desserts:
Cherry Pie (published May 20, 2017)
Homemade Berry Pie (published July 23, 2017)
Almond Roca (published February 22, 2018)
Homemade Banana Cream Pie (published May 10, 2018)
Cannoli (published August 3, 2017)
Easy Authentic Tiramasu (published May 3, 2018)
Ooey Gooey Blonde Brownies (published August 11, 2018)
Old Fashioned Peach Crisp (published August 1, 2018
Classic Canned Peaches (published August 8, 2018)
Noyaux (Almond Extract made from stone fruit pits) Published August 7, 2017
Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream (Published May 25, 2017
Fudgy Chocolate Brownies (published September 30, 2018)
Breakfast:
Whole Wheat Waffles (published August 12, 2017)
Dutch Babies (published May 30, 2018)
Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce (published Sept 23)
Side DIshes:
Festive Pineapple Sesame Coleslaw (published September 14, 2018)
Italian Roasted Vegetable Platter (published September 13, 2018)
Pear Gorgonzola Salad (published September 26, 2018)
Canning and Preserving:
Noyaux (French bitter almond extract from stone fruit) (Published Aug 7, 2017)
Sweet & Spicy Pickles (Published July 6, 2017)
Canned Peaches (Published August 23, 2018)
Ricotta from Powdered Milk (Published Aug 5, 2017)
Candied Orange Peel (Published September 12, 2018)
Articles from living in Italy and California:
A Morning Run in Nettuno (Published September 10, 2017)
A Visit to Castelli Romani (Published September 13, 2017)
Dinner for Six (Published October 1, 2017)
Italian Cooking School (Published October 8, 2017)
Culinary Tour of Napoli (Published November 17, 2017)
Changing Seasons in Italy (Published November 25, 2017)
Our Trip to Englands Cotswolds (Published January 12, 2018)
Cooking with Pasquale (Published January 28, 2018)
A Tour of the Garden of Ninfa (Published May 7, 2018)
A Trip to Montefiascone (Published May 17, 2018)
San Gimignano, a visit to a Tuscan Hill Town (Published June 9, 2018)
Tuscan Hot Springs of San Filippo & Saturnia (Published June 13, 2018)
Articles about Tiny House “Homesteading” in California:
The Beginning of a Blog (Published May 18, 2017)
The Cherry Tree (Published May 20, 2017)
How to Roast Your Own Coffee Beans (Published May 22, 2017)
Successful Square Foot Gardening (Published May 23, 2017)
Yosemite (Published June 7, 2017)
My Tiny House (Published June 15, 2017)
Making Noyaux (French Bitter Almond Extract from Stone fruit pits) Published August 7, 2017)
Sweet & Spicy Pickles (Published July 21, 2017
Classic Canned Peaches (Published August 6, 2018)
Ricotta from Powdered Milk (Published Aug 5, 2017)
