Deep Dish Apple Pie

Mmm, pie!

Did anybody else ever watch Weebl and Bob? I think I wasted too much time on that site when I was in high school.

Anyway, that's what I made you. A Great. Big. HUGE apple pie.

If you've been following along, then you know all about the homemade pastry dough I showed you last week. This is incredible stuff when it comes to pastry!

So now it's time to get our bake on...

Traditional Deep Dish Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 large Cortland apples
• 6 medium Macintosh apples
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• A heaping 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 recipe Century-Old Nun's Pastry Dough (2 balls of dough)

Directions:

1. Position oven rack in bottom third of oven and pre heat the oven to 425*F.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples, then put them in a large bowl and combine with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first ball of dough to a 12" circle about 1/8" thick. Transfer to a deep 9" or 10" pie plate. Place in the fridge while rolling out the second ball of pie dough that will form a lid.
4. Remove the pie shell with the pastry from the refrigerator and pack with the apple filling; the filling can come up above the rim.
5. Place the pastry lid over top of the filling, press the edges firmly together, then trim and crimp the edges using your forefinger and thumb.
6. Make a few slits in the top for the air to escape while baking, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Reduce the temperature to 350*F and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until the pastry is a light golden brown.

Serve hot with some vanilla ice cream. Kawartha Dairy ice cream is some of the best! They use 100% Canadian fresh milk and cream.

Almond Butter & Apple Panini with Cinnamon Creamed Honey

Ugh, It's Monday. Ick.

That's okay though, because as I promised I've got something very special for you that involves both cinnamon and honey. This is magical enough to make you forget it's even Monday people.

You see I discovered this great little place called Simply Tea & Chocolate in downtown Barrie not too long ago. They have a nice big selection of loose leaf teas, locally hand crafted chocolates, comfy couches, and a cozy atmosphere over looking the lake. They also know how to make some really good food that's fresh and health minded. This is where I found the most wonderful sandwich.

Thin slices of apple, almond butter, and honey on whole grain bread all warmed up in a grill press. Who would have ever thought to make a sandwich out of apples? You have to admit its a pretty strange idea at first. It's also very delicious.

So naturally I needed to make my own version because this was just too good. Trust me sandwiches don't get much more exciting than this. Especially if you love all things nut butter.

So instead of just plain bread I used a really good cinnamon raisin bread from the local bakery. Then I took creamed honey (this stuff is from Dickey Bees, Unpasteurized and also local) and mixed it all up with some cinnamon.

Spread that almond butter on nice and thick, it's good for you! (as long as your not allergic of course)

Slice your apples nice and thin so they cook and caramelize a little while in the panini press.

Now for the fun part. Squish!

Oh George Foreman Grill, what would I do without you? You have so many wonderful purposes!

Eewy Gooey toasty goodness! If you love almond butter or any kind of nut butter for that matter, you really need to try this.

Almond Butter & Apple Panini with Cinnamon Creamed Honey

(Makes 1 sandwich)

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• 1 tbsp unpasteurized creamed honey (if its local its tastes better and is better for you)
• about 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp raw almond butter (I used MaraNath's Organic & Creamy No-Salt added)
• 1/3 of an apple sliced very thinly, skin left on

Method:

1. Stir together the honey and cinnamon until nice and creamy, and well mixed.
2. Spread almond butter on one slice of raisin bread.
3. Spread creamed cinnamon honey on the other slice of raisin bread.
4. Add thinly sliced apples to the slice of bread with honey on it and top with the almond butter slice.
5. Place the assembled sandwich in a preheated panini press, or like I'm using, a George Foreman gill, and lower the lid.
6. Grill on the first side for about 4 minutes but make sure you watch it so it doesn't burn (temperatures can vary from one grill to another).
7. Flip the sandwich over and grill on the other side for another 3 minutes or until nice and toasty. The honey and almond butter will be drippy.
8. Transfer to a plate, slice on an angle and enjoy!

My basil plant want's to eat my sandwich!This will be one that you make over and over again.