CELEBRATION DINNER PART 2: SISTERS AND DESSERT!
This is my sister. She is holding a piece of the apple pie she made when she came to visit. Doesn’t she look happy? I am trying to convince her that cooking is a delightful hobby for us to share. Of course, she lives in the dorm at the moment, so she doesn’t have much of a need to cook. But she will one day. Or so I keep telling her.
Really, I think, there are very few things in life quite like having a sister. I was 9 when Elizabeth was born, and I already had two brothers. And I liked them okay, but, well, they were. . .you know. . .boys. When my mom told us she was having a baby I just knew it would be a girl. I knew because I prayed every single night before I went to sleep that it would be. I have some pretty hilarious diary entries which reveal these facts (apparently I’ve been writing most of my life).
Of course by the time she was about 3, I was convinced that the joke was on me. By the time I was into wearing make-up and jewelry, she was into smearing my makeup all over her arms and legs and scattering the earrings for my newly pierced ears from one end of the house to the other. By the time I was into watching movies with boys in my parents’ living room, she was into spying on us. Or opening the front door to some unsuspecting boy only to slam it in his face. Or parading around in little to no clothing. We shared a bedroom my last three years of high school, and by the time I left for the dorm, I was pretty sure we would never have anything in common.
But growing up has mysterious effects on sibling relationships. As each year goes by, I think we are more and more alike in some ways and different in some really complementary ones too. We like a lot of the same foods, for instance, and I am trying really hard to persuade her that we both also love to cook it. Whenever she comes to visit, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This last time, I put her in charge of the apple pie. And, she did a fantastic job. See how tasty it looks?
Apple pie should probably go on the comfort food list for me. I like it warm, without ice cream, and with lots of cinnamon and brown sugar.
After trying many recipes, this one has turned out to be my favorite. The topping is made from crushed gingersnaps, which gives it a nice crunch. My favorite touch, though, is that you pour hot maple syrup all over the pie before serving it. Yum. One of the keys to the recipe is to slice the apples really thinly (Elizabeth and I had to work on her knife skills a little bit before she got the hang of it. I forget how much practice it takes to learn how to use a knife!) so that they turn very, very soft in the cooking process. The result is a pie that melts in your mouth with syrupy sweetness and buttery cookie crunch.
This holiday season, I hope you find yourself in the kitchen with someone you love. If it happens to be your sister, count yourself among the doubly blessed. I know I will.
This recipe is adapted from Heart and Soul by the Junior League of Memphis.
Maple Apple Pie
1/4 cup gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 stick melted butter
1 T. flour
1/8 t. salt
6 medium Granny Smith apples
1 pie shell
1/4 cup maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The cookies and pecans need to be finely crushed; you can do this in the food processor or with a plastic bag and a heavy-bottomed pan, although the second option makes a bigger mess. Mix the crumbs and nuts with the sugars, the melted butter, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Set aside. Slice the apples very thinly (you can peel them if you are averse to peel in your pie; I’m not, so I skip that step.) Line the unbaked pie shell with a thick layer of about half the apple slices. Top with half of the cookie mixture. Lay the remaining apples on top, and finish with the rest of the cookie topping. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the crust and topping are golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool. Heat the maple syrup until it boils. Pour over pie just before serving. No ice cream needed!