Apple Pie - Food Easy Recipe

I also bake apple pie every Christmas. The cinnamon smell reminds me so much of my childhood days when mom used to bake apple pie. There was one Christmas in the early seventies when Apple imports ceased. Mom innovated her apple pie by using sayote. No one knew it was a fake apple pie until she announced it after we all gobbled it up. But these days, apples are sold in most fruit stands. I use the tart apples (green/red apples) from China as they have a sweet apple aroma unlike the plain Washington apples. The Chinese apples have a crunchy texture that makes it a pleasure to eat.

Anyway here is my recipe

For the Pie crust

This recipe makes enough dough for a double crust pie (one top crust & one bottom crust).

8 or 9-Inch Double Crust

3 level cups all-purpose flour

1 level teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margaine (I used star margarine)

1/2 cup butter or shortening

5 tablespoons cold water

1 tsp sugar (optional)

Procedure for the Crust

1. Combine flour, salt in bowl. Create well.

2. In the well, add margarine and butter.

3. Using a fork or pastry cutter, combine butter/margarine with the flour until well blended.

4. With a few tablespoons of water, add to the flour mixture and slowly form a ball. Add more water if desired.

5. Roll the dough from center outwards form a circle. Make sure the diameter is one inches more than the top of the pie plate.

If you didn’t get the crust procedure, view how [tag]pie crust[/tag] is made together with photos, click here or here

Apple Pie Filling

1/4 cup brown sugar , packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 tbsps butter

8 to 10 green tart apples, sliced (small taiwan apples are great)

3 pieces calamansi juice

1. Pare and slice apples thinly.

2. squeeze calamansi juice on sliced apples.

3. combine the first 7 ingredients above together to create a sugar-spice mixture. Blend well.

4. Coat apples gently with sugar and spice mixture.

5. Spoon into pie crust. Add butter on top.

6. Cover with crust. Flute the top of the pie crust. Slit in center.

7. Bake at 425 F for about 40-45 minutes until pie crust is golden brown or until the juices bubble through the slashes .

We usually eat our Apple pie slice topped with vanilla ice cream or what is usually known as Apple pie a la mode. The combination of hot and cold flavors is just yummy.

Best chocolate-y Chocolate Chip Cookies - Food Easy Recipe

Ingredients:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

Procedure: 

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4

minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do not overmix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to 300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft (but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Gingerbread Man Cookie Recipe - Food Easy Recipe

Every Christmas season, I bake “Gingerbread Men Cookies” for my children. Even if they are much older now, the memories and the aroma of molasses, cinnamon and other spices give them a warm cozy feeling. It’s one reason that I’ve continued this tradition year after year. I will share this recipe with you if you want to bake it too.

This recipe is modified for a tropical climate. The original recipe requires immediate rolling after the dough has been made but our tropical heat just makes it gooey to handle.

Ingredients:

5 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup margarine (butter compound)

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark molasses (use our locally made molasses)

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 egg

Materials Needed to decorate Gingerbread Man:

Cherries for the lips

Raisins for the eyes

Chocolate candies (M & M’s)

Gingerbread Man shaped Cookie Cutter

Procedure:

1. Place margarine and sugar in large bowl.

2. In saucepan, heat molasses to boiling. Pour over margarine and sugar, add vinegar.

3. Stir on speed number 2 until well blended.

4. Set aside to cool.

5. Sift dry ingredients together.

6. Add egg to molasses mixture and beat on speed no. 4 to blend.

7. Add dry ingredients and stir into molasses mixture on speed no. 4 until well blended- about one and half minutes.

8. Refrigerate overnight or freeze for an hour.

9. Get a small portion of the chilled dough and roll on well floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. ( Tip:I roll directly on the cookie sheet for easy handling of cut dough)

10. Cut with floured Gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter about one inch apart.

11. To decorate the Gingerbread man before baking

12. Place cherries for lips and raisins for the eyes.

13. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes.

14. Cool on brown paper for towelling.

Decorating the Gingerbread Man:

Icing for the buttons

3 Egg Whites (1/3 cup)

3 to 4 cups Confectioners Sugar

(this yields around 4 cups of icing which you can use for Christmas cookie decorating)

Procedure:

1. Beat egg whites until stiff.

2. add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3. Add confectioner sugar until well blended

For decorating tips:

1. Stick chocolate candies with the icing to form buttons

2. Ice the head for hat

3. Ice the feet for shoes.

After all the Gingerbread Men Cookies have been iced, I wrap them individually in ice-bag plastic and string them to our Christmas garlands that adorn our rooms in the house.