Little Locathor Saves the Day or at Least the Apple Pie

Kids can do so much in the kitchen - peel, roll, mash, stir, and chop. They can also save recipes from recipe oblivion.

It's been a while since I've followed recipes too closely. Especially, at the holidays when I'm serving multiples courses, I'm usually just throwing stuff together. Hopefully, if it turns out great, I can piece it together from cursory notes or my memory. I think that these may not be the most reliable resource much longer.

After our feast, I served a pumpkin cheesecake and apple pie. The former and richer of the two overshadowed the latter at first, but the apple pie revealed its charms the next day. A pie tasting better the following day? Yup.

Following in our family tradition of Thanksgiving pie for breakfast, my mother ate a slice the next day for breakfast. Calling up to me from our family room, she proclaimed it the "best apple pie she'd ever eaten." My husband, who's not a pie eater, decided that then he had to try it. With a sheepish grin, he described it as "tough" (not a derogatory descriptor for the crust, but instead a very high compliment indeed).

At this point, I figured I better write down the recipe before it was lost to the ether. On a lark, or so I thought, I consulted my son.

"How many apples?" I inquired.

"Two" he responded.

His response confirmed my suspicion as to his value as a recipe writer.

My mom then suggested "5," to which Thor corrected:

"No, grandma, there were 2 apples and 2 pears."

A ha! The secret ingredient to my wildly successful apple pie was the two overripe Bartlett pears that I added as a last minute replacement. Tasting it again, sure enough, the silky mush that enveloped the softened apple slices were pears.

Little Locathor saves the day, or at least the apple pie.

Apple Pie with a Cinnamon Crumb Crust

1 recipe pate brisee
2 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg
pinch of cloves
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick cold all-purpose butter, cut into pieces
1 pinch cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll out the pie crust and crimp the edges. Poke with a pork several times. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on top and weight it down with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

While the crust baking, mix the apples, pears, flour, sugar, spices, lemon juice, and rind in medium bowl.

Stir together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use your fingers to cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Fill the crust with the apple-pear mixture. Sprinkle the crumbs over the top and bake on top of a sheet pan for 50 minutes to an hour or until the crumb topping is slightly browned.