Dear all! Happy #LoveThePie day 😉

I have so many exciting news, I don’t know where to start. I guess we’ll try the chronological order?

A couple of days after I came back from France, I received a gorgeous “Flirty Apron” from the wonderful food blogger over at FreeSpiritEater, as a giveaway prize I won. (The first giveaway I win!) I will be posting a picture of me wearing it in my next post, with a special recipe!

Secondly, I’ve recently tried to be more involved in food blogging by tweeting more (are you following me yet? 😉 ) and participating in more events such as the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap for which I gained two pounds in the matter of two days while perfecting the cookie recipe I’ll be using.

And thirdly, there’s a really cool event coming up this Friday, but about that – in my next post, together with the apron picture!

For now, let’s talk pie. When I decided to participate in “Love the Pie ” I thought of making a delicious caramel pecan pie. Nothing extraordinary really, but I simply love pecan pies. However, the hubby, already on a sugar high from testing and critiquing my cookies, suggested that I go instead for something more traditional. In other words, he wanted an apple pie. With a double crust, of course.

And so, apple pie it was. Of course, I had to change things slightly, making the pie individual and also, lighter. For that, I chose to make a thinner crust – but also to spice it up in order to make it just as satisfying.

Here’s the recipe:

Individual Spicy Apple Pies

For 3 small, individual pies, or 1 regular

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp allspice
• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, cold
• scant ¼ cup sparkling apple cider, cold (You can make your own – which I did – if you have a soda maker)

(Note: If you prefer the regular, very flaky crust, use 2 ½ cups flour, 2 sticks unsalted cold butter, and no apple cider.)

Filling

• 3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, sliced thinly, and then cut into smaller chunks (Those will stay crispy. If you want a mushier pie, use McIntosh apples or a combination of different types.)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 4 tbsp chopped pecans
• 3 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Combine all the dry crust ingredients together and mix well. Dice butter and work it in, adding as little as needed from the apple cider, until you get what looks like crumbles. Then form a ball from the dough, place it in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. (Or, if you prefer, divide the dough into six – three bottom and three upper crusts and wrap them separately. I personally preferred to perform it after I roll out the dough.)
2. Once the dough is refrigerated, pull it out and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. In a bowl, mix the apples, pecans, and raisins, together with the spices and sugar. Add the vanilla extract.
4. Roll out the dough. (If you have not divided it into upper and bottom crusts in step #1, do it so now.)
5. Place bottom crusts in dusted with flour ramekins. Press with your fingers to make them stick. Trim the edges, but leave about ½ inch.
6. Place a third of the apple mixture in each ramekin. Cover with upper crusts and press the edges of each top crust with the corresponding bottom crust. Trim again as needed to make a clean, about ½ inch edge.
7. Cut small “vents” in the top crusts with a knife. Then, place ramekins inside the oven, for 20-25 minutes, depending on how quickly the pies get golden. Reduce to 375 degrees, and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

PS: You can “Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton,Bags by Bloom and  Harvard Common Press”  until November 23, 2011.