4th of July Apple Pie {Cookbook Review and Giveaway-WINNER!!}

****WE HAVE A WINNER FOR THIS GIVEAWAY!!!  

CONGRATULATIONS TO.........

Comment # 8 sent in by Cheryl over at the blog, Cheryl's Place!!!

Cheryl, I have contacted you for more info. about the giveaway ;) 

I must say....I had soooooo much fun reading all the entries!!!  It was so exciting to read everyone's favorite 'heirloom' recipes ;)  Thank y'all so much for entering!  ******

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED****

Hey y'all!!  For those who did not know, I have been on a hiatus from cooking/baking for practically the whole month of January due to health issues.  Well, I am back and am ready to take on the blogging world again...per doctor's orders :) 

 I think Husband Man was getting a little tired of playing Mr. Mom so he has traded in his apron for his ACU's (Airmen Combat Uniform for all the non-Military folks out there) and is returning to work this week.  Meanwhile, I am left with trying to pick up where I left off in my life before all this medical craziness happened.  I am still in recovery mode though and think it's going to take at least 2 or 3 more weeks until I am completely healed.  Husband Man insisted that I still need assistance so he has switched his work schedule around to where he is home during the day.  Sweet of him huh?  This is one of the many reasons why I love the man ;)

Anyway...I can go and on and on and on about things...but I will spare y'all....

Let's get to that recipe shall we ;)

I originally made this pie back in November and I had all intentions of posting the recipe.  However, the holidays crept up on us and well...y'all know how that goes.

This recipe comes from the cookbook, Sugar, Sugar and I am so happy to be able to share it with y'all today.  When the representatives from the publishing company contacted me to ask to review the book, I was  more then thrilled to do so.  I LOVE to bake so this book was right up my alley!  

I am secretly on a quest to find the perfect homemade apple pie recipe so when I found this recipe in the book, I squealed with delight.  This pie definitely made me call off my search.  From the crust to the filling, it totally fit the bill.  What made it even more appealing was the story that went along with the pie.  When we ate it, we literally felt like we were eating a piece of history.  I will not go into detail about the story because it can be found in the cookbook ;)  Suffice to say, my family and I really loved it.

Make it for your family and friends ;)  They will LOVE it!  I promise ;)

4th of July Apple Pie

(adapted from the cookbook:  Sugar, Sugar)

(makes one double crusted 9 inch pie)

To Make The Crust, You Need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) butter, chilled and cut into thin slices

6 tbsp. vegetable shortening

4 to 6 tbsp. ice cold water

Directions For The Crust:

1.  Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Add the butter and shortening.  Pulse 10 to 15 times until the mixture forms small nuggets.  

2.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl.  

3.  Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, using a fork to mix it until the mixture holds together.

4.  Carefully turn out the dough onto parchment paper and shape it into a ball.  

5.  Divide it roughly in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap or parchment paper and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.

To Make The Pie You Need:

1 cup granulated sugar 

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tbsp. all purpose flour, divided

6 or 7 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1 batch of the double crust above

1 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of the flour.  

3.  Place the apples in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the sugar mixture over them and toss to coat.

4.  Roll out half of the chilled pie dough on a lightly floured work surface until it is large enough to fill your 9 inch pie plate and leave 1/2 to 1 inch hanging over the edges.  

5.  Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, then unroll it into the pie plate and press gently against the bottom and sides.

6. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp. flour over the bottom pie crust.  Pour the apple mixture into the crust.  Dot evenly with the butter.

7.  Roll out the second half of the dough to about 10 inches in diameter.  Gently cover the apple mixture with the top pastry.   

8.  Crimp or flute the edges.  Make three 1-inch slits on the top crust to allow steam to escape.

9.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then decrease the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes longer or until crust turns golden and the juices begin to bubble.  

10. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

***The Giveaway***

Today is a lucky day for all of you :)  

The wonderful people over at Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC have agreed to giveaway one copy of Sugar, Sugar to one very lucky reader of this blog!  

Trust me when I say that you WILL want a copy of this book :)  

Let's start with the basics.....who are the wonderful writers of Sugar, Sugar?

They are Kimberly "Momma" Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero.  Reiner founded Momma Reiner's Fudge, which gained national attention as one of Oprah's Favorite Things in O, The Oprah Magazine.  She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and her fudge has been featured on Rachael Ray.  Jenna, Kimberly's law school classmate, previously worked as an entertainment lawyer and rocked as the lead singer of the band, Vixen.  Now she works with Kimberly to spread the love of sugar.  They both write regularly for modernmom.com and live near Los Angeles.

Take A Look Inside The Book...

To quote the press release from Andrews McMeel Universal:

"Sugar, Sugar contains recipes from across the country, each with its unique story.  From cakes sent as a symbol of love to pies perfect for parties, the tales behind these recipes are as enticing as the concoctions themselves.  Each recipe includes a nostalgic "ingredient" to convey the personalities and warmth of the friends or family behind it."

One of the things I love about this particular cookbook is the beautiful illustrations of the recipes and the comedic titles of each section, such as the one listed above.  Also, each recipe has a story behind it and the authors do a really great job at bringing these stories to life. So when you are eating that yummy 4th of July of Apple Pie that just came out of your oven 15 minutes ago, you are also eating the same apple pie that graced Celia "Muffy" Hunt's family every July while growing up...thanks to her grandmother, Ms. Ida Vaughan.  

At the end of each recipe, there are also specific tips given to you by the sugar mama's themselves to make the recipe easier and tastier.  Each tip has a symbol to go with it.  It either falls into one of five categories..or all of them (sugar momma note, old school, modern variation, carpool crunch, or sass it up).  Such a wonderful thing to read if you want to learn even more about the recipe.

Seriously, who would not want to win this cookbook?!   And heck, even if you don't win it, go out and purchase it!  Trust me, you WILL NOT regret it ;)  I really enjoyed reading it from beginning to end.  The stories behind the recipes will make you laugh and make you cry.  Y'all will LOVE it!

What You Need To Do To Win:

1.  Comment on this post telling me your favorite heirloom family recipe.

2.  Leave an e-mail address after your comment so I know to contact you should you win.

For Extra Entries (only one will count for an entry):

1.  Tell all your friends on Facebook about this giveaway...with a link back to this post.

2.  Tweet about this giveaway...with a link back to this post.

3.  Post about this giveaway on your blog...linking back to this post.

Note:  Please, please, please be sure to come back here and tell me that you have done one of the following so I can give you that extra entry.

Deadline is Sunday, February 5th.  

Open to U.S. Residence only.

Winner will be chose by Random.org.

Good Luck Everyone!!!

For more information about Sugar, Sugar and the Sugar Mama's....visit their website at:

http://www.sugarsugarrecipes.com/