Apple pie is the most comforting dessert to me. My great-grandmother used to make homemade pies in her tiny kitchen when we’d come to visit. Great Grammy would roll out the dough, fill the pie with chunky apple slices, and pop it in the oven before we’d arrive. She’d always save the leftover scraps of pie crust for my sisters and I.  With a shake of cinnamon and sugar and a quick stay in the oven, the crispy strips were a preview of sweet things to come. 

Her pie was the gift that kept on giving. Instead of Oreo O’s or Toaster Strudels, the best breakfast as a kid was a warmed-up slice of her apple pie (and a glass of milk) the next day. (Unbelievely my dad and sisters skipped this day-after ritual. Which just meant more for my mom and I. So I’m not complaining.)

Truth time, I’ve actually never made a pie from scratch (but it’s on my 101 in 1001 list.) I wasn’t feeling that ambitious the other night when I found a recipe for a baked apple dessert that would do just fine for my apple pie craving. I only had one Granny Smith apple left so I just divided the recipe for Oatmeal-Brown Sugar Baked Apples. (The whole process was easy and would have been a lot easier had we had an apple corer or melon baller.)

I paired my “pie” with a scoop of Small Batch Bourbon Vanilla made by Steve’s Ice Cream and was delighted in how close it came to the real thing. I only wish I could have shared my modern and more adult take on the pie from my childhood with Great Grammy.

Photo by JS