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Zapple Pie

05 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Apple Pie, Summer Fruit Pie

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Tags

apple, crumb, pecan, summer, zucchini

It’s not Apple Pie: It’s Zapple Pie.

Yes, my friends. It’s time to talk about mock apple pie, made from zucchini and a few other ingredients that aid the trickery. Unless you actually make one yourself, you will probably not believe me when I say how good it is. But I and my taste-testers will tell you: it is really, really, really good. This Crumb-Topped Zapple Pie recipe can be found in Ken Haedrich’s book Pie, like most of the others discussed on this blog.

I made two of these back-to-back in late August/early September when mi querida amiga Linda gave me six zucchini from her prolific garden, two of which were actual giants. I’m a person that likes zucchini a lot of ways, but after making that first pie, it was like, oh, clearly this is 100% the best way to use zucchini. Let’s not mess around with zucchini bread and other such distractions anymore.

What does it take to make a Zapple Pie? Take a look.

Because this pie is so unusual, so delectable, and made with such a common ingredient, I feel it will be well worth our collective time to go into the process in a more step-by-step fashion than I typically would. Sound good? Sounds good.

Peel the zucchini and cut into thin, but not paper-thin, pieces (Cut rounds, then quarter them if a large zucchini, or in half for a medium zucchini.) You’ll start with six cups of raw zuke pieces.

Not previously pictured, but here is another key secret ingredient. Little bit of apple juice concentrate + Little bit of apple cider vinegar goes a long way in making zucchinis taste like apples, as it turns out.

Sugar, spices, and appley things simmer with the zucchini in a stockpot prior to baking. A cornstarch and lemon juice mixture is added towards the end to thicken and brighten up the mixture.

Like most of Ken’s crumb-topped pies, this pie is baked for half an hour with nothing on top, and the crumbs are added about halfway through the total baking time. Personally, one of my favorite aspects of this pie is the use of pecans in the crumb topping. This truly elevates the flavor and texture of the entire pie, in my opinion. Genius move.

In checking for doneness, you’ll see thick juicy bubbles around the edge of the pie when it’s done, just like you would expect of any classic fruit pie.

I was happy to be able to share these pies with Linda (the zucchini-giver) and her family and Levi’s grandparents and aunt. We’ve also been having backyard church some Sunday nights with a handful of friends, a real joy. Distanced and all that, you know the drill (Pippa and her cousin “baby Luke” don’t distance, because a. They stink at it and b. We are in each others’ bubbles.) But boy oh boy, it is GOOD to sit eight feet apart from physical people and physically drink the wine and eat the bread together.

And sometimes, afterwards, physically eat mystery pie together.

Pippa: “Whhaaaaat’s in it?” She loves being in on trickery.

Bonus completely irrelevant photo that no one will be mad about: Pippa and her beloved babies. I hope she never stops calling anyone that is even slightly younger than her “baby ___________”.

Left to right: Baby Pippa, Baby Margaret, Baby Dolly, Baby Lucy, Baby Lydia. #babysquad

Will you try making a Zapple Pie? Don’t forget to let me know. I very badly want to hear your reaction and whether you found it as entirely delightful as I did. ❤

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Mixed Feelings

20 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Apple Pie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

apple, bourbon, caramel, crumb, pecan, spices, whiskey

It’s always a little bittersweet, baking pies for auction. I imagine it must feel like when painters sell their art; there is consolation in knowing that someone else will enjoy your creative work, but isn’t that joy sometimes mixed with the sentiment, “but…but…I want to keep it!”?

I’ll be honest, it’s borderline maddening when you’ve made your whole house smell like apples and caramel and cinnamon and know you aren’t getting a single bite.

It’s okay though. Really, it is. Not only did someone else (my super-fun 3rd grade student Sam’s uncle, Jeff) have the kindness to place the highest bid on this pie and support a wonderful school in the process, I got to bake it. And if that sounds like a paltry comfort, let me put it this way; if the only part of the pie-making process I cared about was the eating, I would have given up on this whole thing a long time ago. Baking and sharing are at least two-thirds the fun.

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Jeff requested an apple pie, and since he was open to a few tweaks on the old classic, I decided to start with a recipe I’d done once before in 2011 (it’s #56 in the gallery)…Liz Reiter’s All-Granny Slug-O-Bourbon Spiced Apple Pie. To that, I made a few more changes: a pink lady apple mixed in with the grannies, a pecan crumb topping, and a little bourbon pecan caramel sauce on top of THAT! (Caramel sauce made by the lovely Carmel, who you’ll meet in a post in the very near future.)

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I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more of this beautiful craftsman cutting board that we recently bought from Karveware, our good friend Jamil’s company. All of their boards are fully made from end-grain wood pieces (scratch-resistant, as they’re self-healing), fitted together to create what almost looks like a wooden mosaic. I’m loving having enough space to chop everything I need for pie/dinner/etc. on my extra-large board. If you’re interested in getting one for yourself, scroll down to the bottom of the page and send me an email, and I’d be happy to get you more details. (Mental note: maybe I’ll post a Karve giveaway someday when I’m a full-time blogger and have more time to generate interest and amass followers and that sort of thing…)

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Here’s the finished product, and as I alluded to before, the smell coming out of the oven towards the end of the hour it baked was just mean. Cruel. 

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I heard tell that this boozy pie may have been destined for Jeff’s bachelor party (he’s getting married soon!) Here’s hoping it was a big hit. And thanks again, Jeff, for supporting a great group of kids.

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Pie and Music

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by jessica@peace-of-pie in Apple Pie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

apple, crumb, dutch apple, Jenny and Tyler, yogurt

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It’s not every day that some of your favorite musical artists come to your house to give a concert. But when that day comes, it’s good form to bake a pie.

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I chose a Pennsylvania Dutch Sour Cream Apple Pie, mainly because it sounded wildly delicious. Other factors were: 1. It definitely gives a solid nod to the East Coast, where Jenny and Tyler and I are from. 2. I tend to choose apple pies when baking for people I’ve never entertained before. Because who doesn’t like apple pie? IMG_0367

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Five reasons why Jenny and Tyler are super cool:

1. They have a vinyl album.

2. They did a cover of “The Sound of Silence” that you can buy here; proceeds go to the International Justice Mission.

3. They ate my homemade bread without complaining.

4. Jenny has a glockenspiel. ‘Nuff said.

5. Tyler plays a suitcase kick drum and eats pie straight from the dish.

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One of my college professors once told me that I should be a music journalist for a living. It’s true that I find it easy to write about music that I feel somewhat detached to.  But sometimes you come across musicians who create music that you not only enjoy listening to, but feel that you could have written yourself in the sense that every word resonates so strongly in your heart. And so I won’t try to describe Jenny and Tyler’s music except in a few words: real, God-centered, passionate, fun, alive.  You can follow this link to download seven of their songs for free!

If you missed the concert, check out www.jennyandtyler.com for tour dates, music videos, and more.

If you were at the concert, leave a comment and share a favorite moment!

If you were at the concert and I brought the pie out after you left; please do forgive me. If I had had the time and ingredients to make pie for all who attended, I most surely would have.

**A couple of delayed thank-yous:

To Andrew for helping set up.

To Mimi and Danny for helping sell merchandise!

To Mimi and Robin for helping me make the welcome banner. You are such exquisite discerners of patterned paper…

To Russ, for the balloons.

To all of the audience members who contributed to the great vibe of the show.

To Jenny and Tyler for coming out to Simi Valley and performing. We had so many people ask us, “But HOW did you get them to come to your house??!” And we said, “Umm…well, we just asked.” We’re so glad you came. You both have beautiful spirits and we feel blessed to have shared some time together with you. Come back anytime.

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