2012 Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest

    2012 Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest Winning Recipes



    1st Place
    Amanda Kurtz
    Kempton County Fair – Berks County

    Creamy Apple Pie

    Crust:
    • 3 cups flour 
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1 1/2 cups butter flavored Crisco 
    • 1 large egg, beaten
    • 5 tablespoons cold water 
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

    Mix flour, salt and Crisco with mixer.  Add beaten egg mixed with water, vanilla and vinegar.  Divide dough into 2 pieces.  Using a rolling pin, roll dough out on a floured board into a 12-inch circle.  Fit dough circle into a 9-inch pie dish.  Trim excess and lute edge.  This recipe makes 2 pie shells plus enough for cut-outs if desired.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Prick bottom and sides of curst with a fork.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.

    Creamy Layer
    • 1/2 cup whipping cream 
    • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
    • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, divided 
    • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 tablespoons butter, softened

    Beat whipping cream on medium high speed for 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form when beater is slowly raised.  Add 1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar and gently mix into whipped cream until well blended.  Set whipped cream aside.  In a large mixing bowl, blend butter, cream cheese, remaining confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.  Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until well blended and smooth.  Add whipped cream to cream cheese mixture and mix on medium-high speed for 1 minute or until light and fluffy.  Spread mixture into bottom of cooled pie shell.  Keep in refrigerator until pie filling is ready.

    Pie Filling
    • 6 cups finely sliced Ida Red or Corland apples    
    • 3 tablespoons flour
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

    Place all pie filling ingredients in a 2-quart crock pot and mix until well blended.  Cook on low heat for 1 hour or until apples are soft.  Let pie filling cool for 1 hour, then place in refrigerator until chilled.  Spoon chilled pie filling over top of creamy layer and garnish with 1 cup finely chopped glazed pecans.  Drizzle caramel over top of pecans.  Place pie in refrigerator until ready to serve.

    Garnish
    • 1 cup finely chopped glazed pecans 
    • 1/4 cup caramel apple dip

    This recipe contains cheese and whipping cream and should be refrigerated until ready to serve.



    2nd Place
    Sue Mattis
    Wattsburg Erie County Fair – Erie County

    Apple Toffee Streusel Pie

    • 4-5 cups sliced applies
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 3 tablespoon King Arthur’s Pie Filling Enhancer (thickener) or 2 tablespoon tapioca
    • 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans (divided)
    • Pastry for double crust 9” pie

    Combine sugar, cinnamon, thickener and half of the pecans.  Toss mixture with sliced applies.  Place in a 9-inch prepared pastry shell.

    Toffee Streusel Layer:
    • 1/2 cup flour 
    • 3 tablespoon sugar
    • 3 tablespoon softened butter 
    • 1/2 cup Heath Toffee bits

    Combine flour & sugar.  Mix in butter with fork until mixture forms coarse crumbs.  Stir in Heath bits.  Sprinkle over apple mixture in shell.  Cover with top crust, seal and flute.  (Lattice top or pastry cut outs work best.)

    Bake as 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until bubbly.  Let cool, drizzle with warm caramel topping and sprinkle with remaining toasted pecans.

    Caramel Topping:
    • 12 Kraft Caramels (or 1/2 cup Kraft Caramel Bits)
    • 2 tablespoons evaporated milk

    Place caramels and evaporated milk in double boiler over medium heat.  Stir until melted and completely smooth.
    (1/4 cup Hershey’s Caramel Ice Cream Topping g can be used in place of above.)

    Crust:
    • 2 cups flour 
    • 3/4 cups butter flavored Crisco
    • 1 teaspoon salt 
    • 5-6 tablespoons cold water

    Sift flour and salt together and cut into Crisco with pastry blender.  Toss with fork while gradually adding cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture holds together.  Divide in half and roll out on floured surface.



    3rd Place
    Kara Lencoski Bullen
    Westmoreland Fair – Westmoreland County

    Traditional Apple Pie

    Crisco Pie Pastry
    • 2 1/2 cups 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt 
    • 1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
    • 1/2 cup water, more or less as needed

    Mix the first three dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Cut the shortening into the dry mixture using a pastry blender.  Add the extra 6 tablespoons of flour and mix.  Sprinkle the water over the flour/shortening and mix with a fork.  Form dough into two rounds and roll out to fit pie plate.

    Apple Pie Filling
    • 5 to 6 cups sliced and peeled apples (half Granny Smith, half Golden Delicious)
    • 2 tablespoons Instant ClearJel 
    • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2/3 cups sugar 
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

    Mix together the dry ingredients.  Toss the apples with the dry mixture to coat.  Sprinkle lemon juice over the apple mixture and mix.  Turn out the apple mixture into the bottom piecrust, creating a compact mount of apples.  Cover with the top piecrust and crimp edges.  Brush pastry with egg white wash (1 egg white whisked with 1 tablespoon of water) if desired.  Cut vents into the top of the pie.  Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for another 40 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crust if lightly browned.



    4th Place
    Cindy M. Hendershot
    Blue Valley Farm Show –Northampton County

    English Toffee Pudding Apple Pie

    Pie Crust Ingredients:
    • 1 1/2 cups flour     
    • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces 
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1/2 cup of refrigerated Crisco shortening
    Apple Filling:
    Five baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced 
    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • 3 tablespoons flour 
    • 4 tablespoons melted butter
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    Sticky Toffee Pudding Filling:
    • 1/2 cup praline pecans 
    • 1 stick of butter
    • 1/2 cup brown sugar 
    • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • 1/2 cup self-rising flour
    Crumb Topping:
    • 3/4 cup of flour 
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
    • 1 stick of butter, softened
    Homemade Caramel:
    • 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk 
    • 1 cup light corn syrup
    • 1 cup sugar 
    • 1/2 cup brown sugar
    • 1/2 stick butter 
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    Praline Pecans:
    • 1/8 cup milk 
    • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons butter 
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 cup pecans
    Preparation:

    Pie Crust:

    Mix all above ingredients in Kitchen aid style mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea-like.”  Carefully sprinkle water in crust mix until it starts to become moistened and gathers together.  Put into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour.  Roll out on to floured surface and make and crimp crust.  Freeze until ready to use.

    Apple Filling:

    Cook above ingredients in large pan on medium heat until cooked halfway.  Stir in 3/4 cup homemade caramel (see directions below) until melted.

    Sticky Toffee Pudding Filling:

    Mix above ingredients just until blended

    Crumb Topping:

    Mix all together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until fine and crumbly.

    Homemade Caramel:

    In heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients, except vanilla.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling.  Reduce heat to low and cook until boiling and candy thermometer reaches 244 degrees F (firm-ball stage).  Pour into glass container.  Cool to use.

    Praline Pecans:

    Melt all ingredients, except the vanilla in small saucepan.  Cook until soft.  Add pecans and vanilla.  Pour onto baking sheet and cool.  Break apart.

    Directions for assembling English Toffee Pudding Apple Pie:
    Spread sticky toffee pudding mixture on bottom of crust.  Put apple mixture over pudding mixture.  Sprinkle with crumb topping.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for one hour or until knife easily slides into center of pie with no resistance.  If pie becomes too brown before done, turn down oven to 350 degrees to finish baking and cover with foil completely.  Top with a generous amount of homemade caramel and praline pecans.



    5th Place
    Jane Siegel
    Plainfield Farmers Fair–Northampton County

    Carmel Apple Crumb Pie

    Crust:
    • 3 cups flour   
    • 1 1/2 cups butter or shortening
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
    • 1 egg
    • 5 tablespoons cold water 
    • 1 tablespoon apple juice

    Mix flour, shortening and salt with pastry cutter until crumbly.  Add beaten egg to water and apple juice.  Add to first mixture.  Mix into crust and make three discs.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.  Roll out on a floured surface.  Makes 3 pie shells.

    Apple pie filling for one pie:
    • 1/2 cup apple juice 
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 cup butter 
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 6 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

    Combine apple juice, 1/2 cup sugar and butter in sauce pan.  Heat until melted.  Add apples and cook until fruit is tender.  Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with cornstarch and cinnamon.  Stir into fruit mixture.  Cook until thickened.  Cool and pour into pie shell.

    Crumb topping:
    • 1 cup brown sugar 
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 
    • 1/2 cup butter
    • 1/2 cup chopped pecans 
    • 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

    Combine brown sugar, flour and oats.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Add more flour if crumbs are too wet.

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Make piecrust, add filling and core edges with foil.  Put pie in oven on a foil lined pan for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees.  After 10 minutes, take pie out of oven and sprinkle crumbs on top.  Put in oven about 25 minutes or until topping is light brown.  Cool a few minutes, then sprinkle with chopped pecans.  Drizzle apple pie with caramel ice cream topping.