WB Challenge #2 – Bacon and Cheddar Apple Pie.

This month’s theme for the What’s Baking Challenge was a fitting one for November:  Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone was able to spend time with family and friends and sufficiently stuffed your faces with turkey.  I know I certainly have been.  It’s leftover city around here…. Not that I’m complaining though.

While Thanksgiving has always been my Dad’s holiday, for the past couple of years, I’ve slowly been given more responsibility for our grand feast.  Last year, we hosted at our house (30 people!!) so we decided to make the turkey and take care of the appetizers while Dad made all of the sides and pies.  This year, we did the same thing but on a much smaller, more manageable scale of only 10 people.

I’ve been making this pie for the past 3 or 4 years and it’s always a hit on our Thanksgiving dessert table.  It takes a simple apple pie and elevates it to another level.  The addition of the cheddar and bacon to the crumble topping gives the pie just a little bit of that savory kick.  It’s not overwhelming, it just gives your palate a slight wake up call.

Bacon and Cheddar Apple Pie – slightly adapted from Rachael Ray

– 1/2 Package Center Cut Bacon

– 1/2 Cup Flour

– 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

– 3 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

– 1 cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar

– 4 Golden Delicious Apples – peeled, cored and sliced

– 1/4 Cup Sugar

– Zest of One Lemon

– 1 Frozen Pie Crust, prebaked according to package directions

Preheat oven to 400.  Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy.  When bacon is cool to the touch, crumble and set aside.

Combine flour, brown sugar and butter cubes in a medium bowl.  Using your fingers, pinch the butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly.  Stir in the bacon and cheese and refrigerate.  This part can be made up to 2 days before use.

Toss apples with sugar and lemon.  Transfer to the pie crust and sprinkle bacon mixture on top.  Put the pie crust on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 15 minutes.  Cover with foil and bake another 45 minutes.  Cool before serving.

Sugar Cookie Pie.

A few weeks ago, we had our good friends over for dinner.  They supplied the steaks with truffle mushroom sauce (YUM!) and asparagus and I was in charge of a side and the dessert.  I found this recipe while searching the food blogs for something quick and tasty.  It just screamed summer to me.

Was it good?  We just about finished the whole pie, and the kiddos gobbled it up too.

Sugar Cookie Pie, adapted from The Dainty Vegetarian

– Premade Sugar Cookie Dough (I used the entire roll and found it made a bit too much crust.  Try starting with 1/2 roll and work your way up from there)

– 8 oz Package of Cream Cheese  at room temperature (I used reduced fat – it would also be yummy with strawberry cream cheese!)

– 4 oz. Creme Fraiche

– 2 tsp. Vanilla

– 1/4 Cup Sugar

– Grated Lemon Zest, to taste

– Fresh Fruit for topping

Preheat oven to 325.  Press cookie dough into pie pan and bake for 35 minutes (My crust “bubbled up” in the middle and was a bit uncooked, so I poked it down after about 20 minutes.).  Let pie crust cool.

Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, creme fraiche, vanilla, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Blend with hand mixer until smooth.  Pour and spread into pie crust.  Top with your favorite summer fruit and enjoy!