Old-Fashioned Apple Sugar-Free Pie and Million Dollar Apple Bars
There is so much to enjoy about the fall in Alabama. We go from lazy days of summer to busy days filled with my favorite activities and foods. Football games, craft festivals, picking up pecans, filling jars with muscadine jelly, the DeKalb County Fair in Fort Payne and apple desserts are certainly just a few that are at the top of my list of the fall season in the South.
Old Fashioned Apple Sugar-Free Pie (made with Splenda)
9-inch double pie crust
5 cups thin sliced, cored, peeled baking apples
1 1/4 cup of splenda sweetener
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Place one pie crust into a nine-inch pie pan. Place sliced apples into a large bowl and set aside. Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over apples and then toss. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust. Place the second crust over the filling. Seal edges, trim and flute. Make small openings in the top crust following your preferred pattern (I just made about six small slits). Bake at 425 degrees until the top crust is golden brown, probably for about 40-50 minutes. If it begins to brown too rapidly, decrease oven temperature to about 325 degrees.
Andy’s Note: I wanted to share this with all of you before I forgot exactly how I made this great apple pie. My husband is diabetic, and I am constantly experimenting with sugar-free recipes. Believe me, you may serve this apple pie for your entire family and they will love it. I topped Doug’s slice with sugar-free Cool Whip, and he enjoyed the taste of the apples and the spices. Serve warm or chilled!
Million Dollar Apple Bars
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup butter, melted
2 beaten egg yolks
4 medium apples, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 slightly beaten egg white
Combine two cups flour, half a cup of sugar and cut in butter until crumbs are the size of small peas. Stir in egg yolks. Divide mixture in half and press one-half over bottom of 9×13-inch pan. Combine apples, remaining sugar, flour and cinnamon. Arrange over bottom crust. Crumble remaining crust over apples. Brush egg white over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool. Drizzle with thin powdered sugar icing I just mix a little milk, powdered sugar and vanilla for my glaze.
Andy’s Note: This is one of the three recipes that I entered in the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1994. Of course, I did not win anything but I hope you will enjoy this recipe. I worked and worked on this recipe until I finally thought it was the “Best of the Best Apple Dessert.” It is still one of my favorites. A friend of mine said, “ Andy, it was just too home-made tasting and too Southern.” Hey, that’s what we like! I may continue some additional apple recipes for next week. Apple Pudding Cake is one that I am going to bake this week, and I will want to share with all of you if it passes my “critical taste test.”
My sister and I are working on some new candy recipes for the upcoming holiday season. They are so different and so delicious!
Roll Tide and War Eagle!
Happy Apple Cooking,
Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Alabama Gift Company in downtown Gadsden and The Messenger on Rainbow Drive.