Winners of the Apple of My Pie Contest

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — In October and November, the Bonanza held the Apple of My Pie Contest, encouraging residents to submit their apple pie recipes for a chance to win a gift certificate to Austin's Restaurant.

In the end, the choices were narrowed to three, and judges determined first-, second- and third-place winners in a bake-off on Tuesday at the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza. Recipes for all the winners are below.

Apple Creeping Cobbler

By Judith Buckingham

This cobbler resembles a French Clafouti. The amount of sugar in the batter creates an unusually chewy-textured, delicious pastry.

Ingredients:

5 lg. Pippin or Granny Smith green apples peeled and thinly sliced

1⁄2 lemon juiced

1 cup currants

1/8th cup Calvados or brandy (optional but wonderful)

2 1⁄4 cups sugar (separated)

3 Tbls. cinnamon or more

3⁄4 cup (1 1⁄2 sticks) butter melted and cooled to room temperature

1 1⁄2 cups flour

1 1⁄2 tsp. baking powder

1 Cup plus 2 Tbls. milk

Directions:

Adjust rack to the middle of the oven and heat to 375 degrees. Prepare apples slicing thinly and place into a large bowl. Mix with 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Toss well.

Warm the Calvados or brandy. Stir in currants and let stand and rehydrate.

Generously coat the sides and bottom of a 9” x 13” baking dish with butter. Pour any remaining butter into the bottom of the dish.

Sift remaining sugar and dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Beat in the milk until a smooth, rather wet batter is formed. Pour the batter into the butter-coated dish. Stir Calvados/brandy soaked currants into apples and arrange over the bottom, pouring any juices over the top.

Note: The batter will rise and ‘creep' up around the apples.

Bake cobbler 35-45 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown.

Serve with soft vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Serves 8.

Awesome Apple Pie

By Mary Gilbert

Ingredients:

8 cups apples

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch salt

1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Cut apples into thin slices. Cook in large pan with 1/2 cup water. While cooking, add butter. Mix sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. After apples are tender, add sugar mix, lemon juice, and vanilla to apples. Allow mixture to simmer 10-12 minutes. Remove from stove and allow apples to cool. Once cool, place in pie crust. Be sure to slit holes in top crust. Sprinkle top with sugar if desired or mix one egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush over top crust. You may also add raisins or nuts to apple mix. Cook in oven at 425 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

For gingersnap crust:

2/3 cups crushed gingersnaps

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon

Toss crumbs with melted butter. Combine sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and rind to form paste. Line bottom of dish with 1/3 of mixture. Add apples and cover with remaining crumbs (may put layer in middle if desired).

For basic pie crust:

Sift together:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Measure and combine:

2/3 cup shortening

2 tablespoons chilled butter

4 - 5 tablespoons water

Cut half the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. Cut the remaining half coarsely into the dough until it is pea size. Sprinkle the dough with 4 tablespoons water and blend lightly into the dough, allowing the moisture to spread. If needed to hold the ingredients together add 1 tablespoon water. Gather the dough up into a tidy ball, divide in half, roll out on floured surface, then line pie pan.

What's An Apple Pie Without A Jalapeno

By Susan Herron

Ingredients:

1 package of Pillsbury Rolled Crust Pie Dough (room temperature)

1 jar of good quality apple butter

1 jalapeño pepper, finely minced (Note 2)

1 tangelo (zest only) (Note 3)

2 lemons (juice only but zest them and freeze the zest for another use)

4 to 5 Granny Smith apples (quartered and cut into bite size chunks) (Note 1)

2 to 3 Honey Crisp applies (quartered and cut into bite size chunks) (Note 1)

1/4 cup of granulated (white) sugar

2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice (made by McCormick)

1 tablespoons of freshly minced ginger root (Note 5)

1 tablespoons of freshly minced fennel bulb (Note 4)

1 can of frozen apple juice concentrate (at room temperature)

2 envelopes of Knox unflavored Gelatin

1/2 to 1 cup of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese; optional

Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Wash your apples, cut them into quarters (removing the stem, seeds and cores) and then into bite sized pieces (usually 5 pieces per quarter). As you are cutting them, place them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut up enough apples to fill the baking sheet in a nice even layer. Mix the apples in a two (Granny Smith) to one (Honey Crisp) ratio.

2. Sprinkle the apples on the baking sheet with two tablespoons of granulated (white) sugar from the 1/4 cup of granulated (white) sugar; set the sugared apples aside.

3. In a 9-inch pie plate, unroll one of the rolled crusts onto the pie plate. Gently press into the pie plate and press along the sides - do not cut off the excess.

4. Put about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the apple butter into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 20-30 seconds; spread the loosened apple butter on the bottom of the pie crust and about half way up the sides but not to the top or over the top of the crust. If you don't use all the apple butter, don't worry - just make sure to cover the pie crust. I used the back of a spoon to do the spreading.

5. Take the baking sheet of apples and place into your cold oven - set the oven temperature to 425 degrees and when the oven reaches the 425 degrees, remove the baking sheet of apples; they will be a little soft but still have their crunch. Let the apples cool a little bit.

6. While the oven is coming up to temperature, in a large bowl, prepare the sauce by combining (a) one half of the room temperature can of apple concentrate; (b) two teaspoons of the Pumpkin Pie Spice, (c) minced ginger root; (d) minced fennel bulb, (e) minced jalapeno pepper; (f) zest of the tangelo; (g) 2 tablespoons of the granulated (white) sugar; and (h) the juice of two lemons - stirring/whisking to combine. Over the top of this mixture, sprinkle the two envelopes of the Knox Unflavored Gelatin and set the mixture aside. Right before you use the sauce, in the next step, give the sauce a quick whisk to combine everything.

7. After the apples have cooled a little bit (Note 6), gently put the apples, in batches, into the sauce. Coat the apples with the sauce and place them into your apple butter prepared pie crust. Continue until all the apples have been moistened in the sauce. You should have sauce leftover. Sprinkle a pinch or two of kosher salt over the apples.

8. Take the remaining pie crust and choose one of the following two options:

a. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese onto the remaining pie crust, then press the cheese into the dough, and then drape it over the pie so that the cheddar cheese is facing the INSIDE of your pie; -OR-

b. Drape the remaining pie crust over your pie without the cheese.

9. Roll the dough that is hanging over the edge together to seal the pie. I roll the edges over the edge of the pie plate so the edge is pinched together and actually on the top of the pie edge. This forms a nice rim to the pie.

10. Brush the remaining sauce over the pie dough.

11. Cut four slits into the pie top. Sprinkle the top of the pie with a pinch of kosher salt.

12. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the oven, remove and let cool at least 10 minutes.

Notes:

1. I don't peel my apples but if you like them peeled, by all means, peel them.

2. When mincing your jalapeno, be careful - remove all of the ribs and seeds; you only want the meat of the pepper in your pie

3. If you can't find a tangelo, use an orange

4. Cut off the frones from the bulb and peel away the top layer from the bulb. Remove one long strip of the flesh of the bulb, julienne (matchstick size long slices) and then cut them into small cubes (mince). The remaining bulb, after you have removed the hard core, can be chopped and used in salads; it is also terrific eaten raw

5. To peel the ginger root, use a teaspoon. You scrape away the peel and then cut it into julienne strips (matchstick size long slices) and then cut the strips into small cubes (mince). The remaining ginger root can be frozen.

6. After the apples come out of the oven it is best to get them off the baking sheet as quickly as possible but still having them laid out in a single layer. I do this by grasping the parchment paper and pulling it, along with the apples, onto my countertop. If you aren't comfortable doing that, don't worry - just let them cool on the baking sheet.