Lori’s Famous Sour Cream Apple Pie

Every year the week before Thanksgiving, I call my mother to tell her I’m baking the pumpkin and apple pies for our Thanksgiving dessert. And every year she says, “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll just pick up pies at the market.”

My family knows I work a lot, and they want to protect me from “wasting” my time shopping and baking. It’s true, I don’t cook or bake on a regular basis. But I do believe that, at least once a year, the meal you share with your family and give thanks over should be one that’s cooked entirely from scratch. 

I actually enjoy baking the Thanksgiving pies because it is my tradition and the recipes were handed down to me from relatives who are no longer able to join us for the holiday.

Although I don’t like messing with family traditions, every so often I try new ingredients in my pie recipes. One year, in honor of my Brazilian exchange student, I used condensed milk instead of evaporated milk for the pumpkin pie. That was a delightful surprise.

When it comes to apple pie, I admit I’m a purist. Crust, apples, sugar, butter. Done. You can’t get closer to perfection than that. But my Aunt Sunnie, who’s my baking idol in Wisconsin, gave me this dutch apple pie recipe that is to die for.  The first year I made it, serving dessert went from an expectation to a unanimous rave. My tradition now includes baking a pumpkin, apple AND my famous sour cream apple pie (after 10 years, I give myself permission to claim the recipe as my own).

I spend a lot of time testing new “recipes” for drip marketing campaigns and finding new ways to leverage the ingredients found in a customer database. I thought you might like a totally different kind of recipe for a change.  Thanks for reading my blog, and to my US readers: Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Lori’s Famous Sour Cream Apple Pie

2 cups tart apples (I like to mix Granny Smith with Jonathan and I usually make it close to 3 cups)

Filling – Beat until smooth:

• 9″ unbaked pie shell (I use a 16″ deep-dish stoneware baking ”pan” and double the recipe)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 T flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 t vanilla

Pour filling into crust. Add apples. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. (Baking fast at high temperature sets the custard-like filling.) Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue baking for 30 more minutes.

Topping – “Cut in”

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter

Prepare topping while the pie is baking the last 30 minutes. Cut in the topping ingredients using a pasty cutter or 2 knives. When the last 30 minutes is up, sprinkle mixture on top of the pie. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 20 minutes more at 350 degrees.

Serve warm or room temperature with vanilla bean ice cream.

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