Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie

After tasting this pie for the first time, it ranked among my most favorite of all time desserts! The deep,
dark, rich, chocolate filling and creamy, slightly tangy creme freiche whipped topping complement each other so well. Just looking at the picture  has me drooling and wishing I had this in my fridge right now!

While I'll admit this is a special occasion dessert that requires a little extra time and effort, the results are well worth it. I do like dark chocolate but I also need my sugar so I always opt for the semisweet chocolate. I have made this several times and it never disappoints!


P.S. We are trying to update our blog and make it easier to find recipes. Please be patient with us!!

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie
Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Read through the recipe to see the notes about what parts of the pie can be made ahead of time.The pudding portion needs to be made at least one day ahead of time to chill overnight in the refrigerator. If  you want to skip the crème fraîche part , you can sub the same amount of heavy whipping cream (making it 1 1/2 cups total) for the topping – but you will be missing out!!!

Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (I use about 3/4 package of chocolate Teddy Grahams (a 9 oz. box)
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
3/4 cup chilled crème fraîche**
3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bittersweet chocolate shavings or curls (optional – I used Pioneer Woman’s chocolate curl instructions found here)

Crust: (can be made one day ahead of time, lightly covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated)
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. In a food processor (or by hand in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin), blend cookie crumbs and sugar. If using a food processor, add melted butter (if using a bag, pour the crumbs into a bowl and mix in the butter); process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides (not rim) of 9-inch glass pie dish. Bake until crust begins to set and no longer looks moist, pressing gently with back of fork if crust puffs, about 10 minutes. Remove crust from oven, then sprinkle chopped chocolate over bottom of crust. Let stand until chocolate softens, 1 to 2 minutes. Using offset spatula or small rubber spatula, spread chocolate over bottom and up sides of crust to cover. Chill crust until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.
Filling: (can be made 2 days ahead of time – keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use)
Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt to blend in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually add 1/3 cup milk, whisking until smooth paste forms. Whisk in remaining milk, then 1/4 cup cream. Using flat-bottom wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, stir mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping bottom and sides of pan until pudding thickens and begins to bubble at edges, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate; stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour hot pudding into crust and spread evenly. Cool 1 hour at room temperature. Cover with a cake dome or other covering that doesn’t lay directly on the pudding; chill overnight.

Topping: (Assembled pie can be made 6-8 hours ahead of time – cover with a cake dome or tall pot and refrigerate)
Using electric mixer, beat crème fraîche, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl just until stiff peaks form and mixture is thick enough to spread (do not overbeat or mixture may curdle). Spread topping decoratively over top of pie, swirling to create peaks, if desired. Sprinkle chocolate shavings decoratively on the top of the pie, if desired. Cut pie into wedges and serve.


**Crème fraîche is a tangy, thinner form of sour cream and is used a lot in French cooking/baking. The unique property of crème fraîche compared to sour cream is that it can be whipped to soft or stiff peaks, just like whipping cream. Crème fraîche is quite expensive to buy but the good news is you can easily make it yourself at home (which is what I did for this recipe). Here is the method I used:
In a small saucepan, pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and over low heat, heat the cream until it is tepid and slightly warm to the touch (no need to overheat it – you just want to take the chill off). Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk. The cultures in the buttermilk are going to turn the cream into crème fraîche. Pour the mixture into a glass jar, cover it loosely and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring every 6-8 hours (don’t worry about it – the cultures in the buttermilk will protect it from going bad). You’ll notice it will start to thicken a bit. After 24-36 hours, put it in the fridge where it can be kept for 7-10 days. Once completely chilled, it can be used accordingly.

Posted by: Sallie

Snickers Bar Pie

One more delicious pie for all of my fellow chocolate lovers. Again this pie comes from the Recipe Girl. If you haven't checked out her site, you need to. Doesn't she take the most gorgeous pictures? She has tons of yummy recipes and even a Weight Watchers section for those wanting to lighten things up. This pie, however, is not one of those things.

SNICKER’S BAR PIE

RecipeGirl

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1½ cups powdered sugar

½ cup chunky or creamy peanut butter

3 regular-sized Snickers candy bars, chopped

16 ounces Cool Whip, thawed (or about 8 cups of stiffly whipped, sweetened cream)

Two prepared graham cracker pie crusts or chocolate cookie pie crusts

chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, chopped snickers and chopped peanuts for garnish

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese sugar and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Stir in chopped candy bars.
3. Gently fold in the whipped cream just until mixed.
4. Divide between the two crusts. Drizzle chocolate and caramel syrup on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and additional chopped snickers. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Yield: 2 pies

Cooking Tips:*For the pie pictured, the crust was made out of Chocolate Teddy Grahams. 2 cups of ground Teddy Grahams, 1 stick of melted butter & 2 Tbsp. sugar, mixed together and pressed into a pie plate. Baked at 350 F. for 7 minutes, and cooled before adding filling.

Posted by: Sallie

Butterfinger Pie

I know a lot of people enjoy fruit pies this time of year but I always like variety, and by variety I mean THERE MUST BE CHOCOLATE. This pie is so good. It's got creamy, crunchy, chocolatey, butterfingery, goodness, in every bite. Go raid your kid's Halloween candy and make yourself some of this delicious pie.

BUTTERFINGER PIE

RecipeGirl

CRUST:

14 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)

4 Tbs butter, melted

FILLING:

23 fun-size butterfinger candy bars (or 15 ounces of butterfingers), divided

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs cornstarch

2 cups whole milk

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

TOPPING:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1. Prepare crust: Preheat oven to 375° F. In a food processor, process the cookies into fine crumbs. Add melted butter to crumbs and continue to process until well blended. Transfer mixture to a 9-inch pie pan and press evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes. The crust will puff up and shrink slightly. Use the flat bottom of a drinking glass to gently press down on the crust. Cool completely.
2. Prepare filling: In a food processor, process 20 of the butterfinger bars into fine crumbs. Divide the crumbs into two 1/2 cup portions and one 1 cup portion; set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and milk. Slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl. Whisk in hot milk mixture 1 Tablespoon at a time until eggs are tempered (slowly warmed up). Then add eggs to remaining milk in the pan, bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture is thick. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter. Scoop out 1 cup of the peanut butter mixture and put it in a medium bowl; cover and set aside. Add chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the butterfinger crumbs to the remaining peanut butter mixture in the saucepan. Stir until chips are melted. Pour this mixture into the cooled crust. Refrigerate while you’re preparing the next layer.
4. Prepare peanut butter layer: Whip 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Scoop into the bowl with the reserved peanut butter filling and fold together with 1/2 cup of butterfinger crumbs too. Remove pie from refrigerator and mound peanut butter mixture evenly over chocolate layer and spread to the edges.
5. Prepare the topping: Whip the 2 cups of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in remaining 1 cup of butterfinger crumbs. Spoon over the top of the pie, mounding slightly in the center. Chop the remaining 3 fun-sized candy bars and sprinkle over the top of the pie.
6. Cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cooking Tips*If you don’t have a food processor, throw cookies in a zip bag and smash it. Candy bars too.**In step 3, if you add the eggs to the pan before they’re warmed up properly, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Warm them up slowly by adding the milk mixture a little at a time until they’re quite warm.

Posted by: Sallie

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is another great make ahead recipe for Thanksgiving. In fact, I think most cheesecakes taste better after getting really cold in the fridge. If you want to change up the traditional pumpkin pie, this is a great way to do it while still keeping some pumpkin flavor. Even a lot of people that don't like pumpkin pie, like this cheesecake. This one is really good! For a yummy change of flavor you can use gingersnap cookies in place of the graham crackers for the crust.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Martha Stewart

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese, very soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).
Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving. Serves 12.

*Tips and Tricks- A few things that are important when making cheesecake:

1-Let the cream cheese get really soft. If not, you'll have lumps that won't go away.

2- Be careful not to overmix the cream cheese once you add the flour. This will cause cracking.

3-Don't open oven while cooking or cooling.

Happy Baking!

Posted by: Sallie

Brown Bag Apple Pie

When it comes to apple pie this is probably my favorite. I love the crunchy, brown sugar, crisp -like topping on apple pies. If I do make a two crust apple pie though, this is the recipe I like to use. The crust is so yummy and a little crunchy. There's more sugar in this dough than a normal pie crust and it tastes almost like a crunchy little sugar cookie. It pairs really well with the tart granny smith apples.If you prefer a less tart apple you could try Bra burn, Pink Lady, or Fuji. Jonagolds are also a great sweet/tart choice. I like to sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the crust for an extra special touch. This pie, just like the name states, does cook in a brown paper bag. It's so great because you don't have to worry about the crust burning and it just gives the pie a wonderful flavor. If you would rather do a crumb topping just mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup butter until crumb like and sprinkle on top before baking. Excuse my picture. My family just couldn't wait to devour it and ate it straight from the oven, hence the falling apart pie.

Brown Bag Apple Pie

Food Network

*Plan ahead. The crust needs to chill overnight*

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into pieces
1/3 cup ice water
Filling:
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Equipment: 9-inch aluminum pie pan, 1 medium-sized brown paper bag

Directions
Make the Crust: In a food processor combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces appear. Add the water and pulse briefly—it will still look crumbly. Transfer the crumbs to 2 pieces of parchment paper or foil and form into 2 disks. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out 1 disk to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your pan. Line the pie pan with the dough, letting the edge hang over a bit. Roll the second disk, place it on a sheet pan and chill it until you're ready to build your pie.
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together. Transfer to the pie shell and dot with the butter. Brush the overhanging edges of the dough with water. Carefully cover with the rolled-out top crust and pinch the edges together, turning them under all around to make a thick edge. To decorate the rim, press it all around with the back of a fork, or just pinch it to seal. With a scissors, cut a few V-vents in the center.
Slide the pie into the brown paper bag and fold the top down. Staple bag shut and place it on a sheet pan. Bake for 1 hour.
Remove the pie from the oven and cut a large circle in top of the bag. Return to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.
Let the pie cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Posted by: Sallie

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

I decided to use this as my next pie recipe because it was such a hit last year when I brought it to Thanksgiving Dinner at my in-laws house. Even if you don't like traditional pecan pie you should give it a try. With the flaky crust, warm chocolate chips, and crunchy pecans it's almost like eating a chocolate chip cookie with lots of nuts. Very rich and decadent. I like it best served slightly warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. A word of caution, the crust does brown very quickly so I would check the pie after about 15 minutes and then cover with foil if browning too quickly.

Emeril's Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

Food Network

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Caramel Sauce, for garnish, recipe follows (or store bought caramel sauce)
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Vanilla Ice Cream for serving, if desired

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Spread the pecan pieces and the chocolate chips evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Pour the filling over the pecans. Bake until the filling sets, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Cut into individual servings and serve with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Caramel Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup whole milk

Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium heavy saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a deep amber color, 2 to 3 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Add the cream (be careful; it will bubble up), whisk to combine, and remove from the heat.
Add 2 tablespoons of the milk, then add up to 2 more tablespoons, until the desired consistency is reached. Let cool until just warm before serving. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.)

Posted by: Sallie

Day 5- The Pie

I really struggled with what pie recipe to post today. I have so many favorites it was hard to choose. After going back and forth, I finally decided on this good old-fashioned pumpkin pie. I know, I know so unoriginal but this is a great recipe and if you've been using the pumpkin pie in a can you've got to try this. It's full of that great pumpkin flavor without being too overpowering and silky smooth. It uses a couple of interesting ingredients and techniques . First of all, the crust has Vodka in it. This is crucial for the texture of the crust and doesn't change the flavor at all. (I've included a second crust recipe if you are opposed to the Vodka.)Second, it uses pumpkin puree as well as Candied Yams. The other two things that seperate it from your average pumpkin pie are that you pre cook the filling on the stove before baking and strain it through a sieve, giving it the silky texture . I would make this at least a day in advance because it does require some chilling time. Never fear, if you're not a pumpkin pie fan, we will be posting several other pie recipes throughout the weekend and next week.

Silky Smooth Pumpkin Pie

slighty adaped from Cook's Illustrated

Crust Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (61/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces

2 tablespoons cold vodka

2 tablespoons cold water

OR:

The Best Pie Dough

Cooks Illustrated

For a double-crust 8- or 9-inch pie.
When rolling out the dough, roll to a thickness of about 1/8-inch thick (about the thickness of two quarters).

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
11 tablespoons unsalted butter , cold, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
7 tablespoons vegetable shortening , chilled
4 - 5 tablespoons ice water

Instructions
1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with some flour. cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into two balls with your hands, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten into 4-inch-wide disks. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

Filling Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 cup drained candied yams from 15-ounce can (if you can't find these regular canned yams will be fine)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup!)

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon table salt

1. For the crust: Process 3/4 cup flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 400°F. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
4. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Using thumb and forefinger, flute edge of dough. Refrigerate dough-lined plate until firm, about 15 minutes.
5. Remove pie pan from refrigerator, line crust with foil, and fill with pie weights or pennies. Bake on rimmed baking sheet 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and bake 5 to 10 additional minutes until crust is golden brown and crisp. Remove pie plate and baking sheet from oven.
6. For the filling: While pie shell is baking, whisk cream, milk, eggs, yolks, and vanilla together in medium bowl. Combine pumpkin puree, yams, sugar, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon,

nutmeg, and salt in large heavy-bottomed saucepan; bring to sputtering simmer over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue to simmer pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly and mashing yams against sides of pot, until thick and shiny, 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Remove pan from heat and whisk in cream mixture until fully incorporated. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl, using back of ladle or spatula to press solids through strainer. Rewhisk mixture and transfer to warm prebaked pie shell. Return pie plate with baking sheet to oven and bake pie for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and continue baking until edges of pie are set (instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 175 degrees), 20 to 35 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.

Posted by: Sallie & Julia

Key Lime Pie

My second favorite thing at Cafe Rio besides the chicken salad is the Key Lime Pie. However, I always seem to eat too much and not have room for dessert so I decided to make it at home today. This is by far my favorite recipe. It was so tart and creamy thanks to 3 whole cans of sweetened condensed milk, I really don't know how it could have turned out bad. I do have to tell you though, unless you are planning on torturing yourself, please use regular limes (I wouldn't recommend the bottled stuff). It took me about an hour to hand squeeze 4 lbs. of the tiny key limes !I don't think I'll be doing that again. I chose to make it into 2 pies and actually made it in two 9 in cake pans but you can also use a 9 x13 pan or a 10 x 2 in deep pie pan. If you want it green just squeeze in a few drops of green food coloring.

Key Lime Pie

WorldWide Ward Cookbook

3/4 lb. graham crackers (this works out to be 22 1/2 graham crackers)

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. butter, melted

3 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk

5 egg yolks

2 cups Key Lime Juice (or regular lime juice) FRESH ONLY

green food coloring if desired

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Lime slices and if desired mint for garnish

In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture 1/2 inch thick on bottom and sides of 10 x 2 in deep fluted pie pan (or 9 x13 or 2 regular sized pie pans). In another bowl, mix condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice (add food coloring if desired at this point) on low speed of mixer until well blended, about 2 minutes (it should be creamy in color and slightly thickened). Pour into prepared pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 18-24 minutes (when pie is done, pressing the surface lightly with a finger should leave a mark). Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate 6-8 hours before serving. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream, fresh limes, and mint sprigs.

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Julia made this a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite apple pies. I love the crunchy topping with the drizzled caramel. It's especially good warm with vanilla ice cream and additional caramel topping.

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

1 homemade pie crust or 1 pilsbury ready made refrigerated pie crust

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 c butter

1/2 c granulated sugar

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1/4 c. caramel ice-cream topping

1. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to strech pastry. Trim and crimp edges as desired.

2. For crumb topping, stir together brown sugar, 1/2 c all purpose flour, and the oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the topping mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl stir together the granulated sugar, 3 tbsp. flour, the cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.

4. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle pie with pecans, then drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 8 servings.

If desired serve with ice cream and additional caramel syrup.