lost things and a secret apple pie

My husband turned 30 several weeks ago. . . he finally caught up with me.  He loves to take the month and a half in between our birthdays to daily tell me how I robbed the cradle.  He chose his cake flavor, and I made these creme de menthe cupcakes that we fell in love with.  I grabbed my camera to take a picture I could blog, and the camera battery was dead.  I then spent the next week checking every nook, shelf, and dark corner in my home.  I was unable find it.  With our next baby being born next week, I went ahead and ordered a new charger. . . so now I have a lot of catching up to do!

So, on to apple pie!  About 10 years ago I cut out a Southern Living recipe for apple pie.  I loved that recipe, and the only thing I remember really loving about the recipe is that it was a crumb topping.  I'm not a huge fan of crust. . . so I'm a total sucker for any crumb topped pie.  

Shortly after I finished culinary school, I went to make an apple pie for Friend Thanksgiving (an annual holiday held by a group of friends).  Apparently I have a real talent for losing things, and I had lost the recipe from Southern Living.  I decided to take my freshly learned skills and create my first pie recipe.  I didn't have internet (it was 2005- and considered a luxury for my budget), and all of my cookbooks were still packed in boxes.  I used what I had in my cupboards, and after a few tweaks this has become my go-to pie.
  

I debated whether or not to share this recipe in the beginning, and eventually decided to keep it a secret.  Here I am, 6 years later, blogging about it.  So this is the recipe debut for my apple pie.  I hope you love this pie as much as my friends and family do.  

Secret Apple Pie

(original by Meredith)
Makes: 1 deep dish apple pie

1 deep dish pie crust (you can use homemade or store bought)

Filling:

6-8 apples; peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (my favorite combination is honeycrisp and granny smith- amount of apples depends on size of pie plate and personal preference)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 Tablespoon Frangelico liqueur

2 Tablespoons melted butter 

Topping:

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

5 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into 5 pieces

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F .  Place pie crust in deep dish pie plate.

For the filling, whisk brown sugar, sugar, flour, salt, and spices (all the dry ingredients) in a large bowl.  Add the apple slices to dry ingredients and toss to evenly coat all of the apple slices.  Stir in the Frangelico and melted butter.  Pour the apple slices and any leftover liquid into the pie crust.

For the topping, place brown sugar, flour and butter in a medium bowl.  With a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands, cut or mix ingredients until it resembles a crumb topping (about 3 minutes).  The flour should incorporate with butter pieces, making the butter pieces about pea size. Mix in the chopped pecans.  Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the apple slices (do not pat topping down, just sprinkle).

Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top begins to turn golden brown, the apples are tender if inserted with a fork, and the juices are bubbly.  Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.