LaShara Lashawn

As the holidays approached you may notice that as the weather and decorations change so does casual conversation. Questions like “what do you have planed for Thanksgiving?” “where are you going or what do you have planned?” or my favorite “lashara can you cook?”. Every year I am asked these questions and I dont get offended by the last question I just answer it with confidence. “Yes, I can make things!” it’s not a yes or a definate no.

Honestly I can cook but I dont consider myself a powerhouse in the kitchen exactly. I did promise to learn and teach myself in hopes that when I am married I can cook a meal for my family. Iv watched YouTube videos, scowered Pinterest and taken risk and created my own favorite dishes and sometimes getting one on one guidance from a friend in my efforts to learn.

This Thanksgiving I had no plans on making anything unless I was helping my grandmother cook, however due to COVID she opted to cancel dinner and encouraged everyone to stay at their homes. A good friend of mine mentioned his love for a particualr pie that I had never heard of, Dutch Crunch Apple Pie. He shared how much he enjoyed them and how only his grandmother knew how to make them really good. This was motivating becuase it was something new and a challenge because baking is not my strong point and how cool would it be to make something almost as good as grandma’s. I looked up so many recipes for days until I found one on Pinterest. Pictures really help becuase by the looks of it, its just a crumbly mess on top of apples, how hard could it be.

I made two pies at my dad’s house where I had quiet and nothing but time to lounge and wait around for the pies to be done which I discovered I needed more time then the recipe stated. I was very please with my finished product and so was my friend. I was very nervous as I did not want to mess up the pies but Im greatful that I learned a new recipe that I can share with my family. Baking is really fun, taking different ingredients and putting them together to create a sweet mouth watering treat is total bliss dont mention adding ice cream which is my favorite (yummy). Click the link for all the steps I took to create this amazing pie and check out my pictures.

The pies were perfect for me they weren’t too sweet or gooey. The apples backed evenly none were super hard and the bottom was cooked all the way which is why I left it in a little longer. My only advice would be to bake it for a hour and a half, make sure to let it sit before cutting and have some ice cream handy. If you have had this amazing pie before please share your tips with me!

https://cookiesandcups.com/dutch-apple-pie/#tasty-recipes-40924

• 5–6 cups Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4– inch pieces (I used 10 apples for two pies)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

• 1 cup flour, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed