Thoughtful Little Gift!

When I got home from a baseball game in Lakeland with my wonderful Riker fam last night, I was surprised with the most thoughtful little gift! Tyler's mom (my sister's fiance's momma) had bought me some new cake decorating bags and tips and they came with the sweetest little note! THANK YOU MRS. HOUGH! No more plain old ziplock bags for writing and decorating!

ALMOST Perfect Apple Pie

My homemade apple pie is always a favorite. Not only does it taste great with a little vanilla ice cream- but it LOOKS pretty too.

The recipe I use takes about 9 small red apples. The type of apple you use is up to you and your taste buds. I typically use McIntosh apples, but any kind will do! If you choose bigger apples, like the Red Delicious apples, you will just use less.


After the apples are peeled and cut up in tiny pieces, I toss them in with a mixture of dry ingredients- sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. One trick to keep the apples from turning brown and to make sure the flavorful dry mixture sticks to every tiny bit of the apples is to squirt a little lemon juice on your apples.

There are many options for the pie crust. You can make it, or buy it, do a two-crust pie, or lattice work... I always choose the 'basket weave' (a.k.a. lattice) technique. It's a pretty simple way to add to the presentation. After you cut thin strips of pie crust and weave them on top of the apple pie mixture, flute the edges with your fingers. Make sure to cover the edges with foil so that they don't burn!

This pie came out ALMOST perfect. The apple shape I placed in the middle got slightly dark in the oven- but it looks and tastes wonderful!