Pioneer country pies - recipes

Autumn apples are the mainstay of these pies from two good Utah cooks. One has a traditional double crust and a fragrant hint of orange, the other a streusel topping. Both have festive embellishments.

For either pie, choose Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, McIntosh, or Winesap apples. Newtown Pippins are also a good choice for the double-crust orange pie, but they don't get juicy enough to bake well in the tapioca-thickened, streusel-topped pie.

Orange Zest Apple Pie 2 3/4 to 3 pounds apples

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon

and ground nutmeg

Pastry for a 2-crust 9-inch pie,

rolled to fit pan

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 egg

Orange sauce (recipe follows)

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples into a large bowl and mix with orange peel. Stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; add to apples and mix well. Line a 9-inch pie pan with I round of the pastry. Pour apple mixture into pan, patting to compact slices and mound in center. Dot fruit with butter, cut into small pieces. Lay remaining round of pastry over fruit. Trim pastry to within 1/2 inch of pan rim and fold edges under, flush to rim. Flute edges to seal; or press together, then scallop with the cupped side of a teaspoon.

Combine pastry scraps, roll out, and cut into decorative shapes. Beat egg to blend, brush lightly over top of pie, place decorative pastry pieces on pie, and brush them lightly with egg. Slash pastry in several places so steam can escape.

Bake pie in a 3750 oven until crust is a rich golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on a rack, then serve warm or at room temperature. If made ahead, cover loosely and let stand in a cool place until next day. Cut into wedges and top with orange sauce to taste. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Carol Whitecar Bountiful Utah.

Per serving: 337 cal; 3.4 g protein; 51 g carbo.; 14 g fat, 31 mg chol.; 244 mg sodium.

Orange sauce. In a 1- to 2-quart pan, stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Add 1 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup orange marmalade. Bring to a boil, stirring, over high heat. Serve hot or at room temperature. If made ahead, cover and chill up until next day; let come to room temperature, or stir over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes.

Per tablespoon : 17 cal; 0.1 g protein; 4. 5 g carbo.; 0 g fat; 0 mg chol.; 0.7 mg sodium.

Apple Pie with Satin Caramel Cream

1/2 cup quick-cooking tapioca

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

About 4 pounds apples

Pastry for a 1 -crust 9-inch pie, rolled

to fit pan

Streusel topping (recipe follows)

Satin caramel cream (recipe follows)

Caramelized almonds (recipe

follows)

In a large bowl, stir together the tapioca, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Rinse apples, quarter, and core. Shred fruit coarsely in a food processor or on a shredder; you should have about 10 cups (fruit will darken). Discard any large pieces. Add apples to tapioca mixture and stir well. Let stand, stirring occasionally, to let tapioca soften, about 45 minutes. Spoon apple mixture into pastry, mounding it in the center and pressing gently to compact fruit slightly.

Sprinkle streusel topping over apples. Bake in a 375[degrees] oven until streusel is golden brown, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature. If made ahead, cover lightly and let stand at room temperature up until next day Serve cream to spoon over pie wedges to taste; or swirl cream onto cool pie, then cut and serve, Sprinkle almonds onto portions to taste. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Jane Osborne, Salt Lake City.

Per serving: 269 cat; 1.6 g protein; 48 g carbo.; 8.9 g fat; 6.2 mg chol.; 134 mg sodium.

Streusel topping. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons each all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter or margarine. With your fingers, rub mixture until coarse crumbs form. Use, or cover and chill up to 2 days. Satin caramel cream. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high beat, stir 2/3 cup sugar and '/4 cup water until sugar dissolves. Without stirring, boil syrup, uncovered, until it is golden caramel in color, about 10 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup water; stir until caramel dissolves (it may harden at first), about 10 minutes. Let cool. Stir in 1 cup whipping cream and I teaspoon vanilla; cover and chill until cold, 1 hour or up until next day

Whip cream until it holds soft peaks. If made ahead, cover and chill up until next day; stir before serving.

Per tablespoon: 36 cal.; 0.2 g protein; 3.3g carbo.; 2.5 g fat; 9 mg chol.; 2.8 mg sodium. Caramelized almonds. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, stir 1 cup slivered almonds until light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over almonds; stir until sugar melts and coats nuts, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture onto a sheet of foil; when cool, serve, or store airtight up to 1 week.

Per tablespoon : 62 cal; 1.7 g protein; 4.8 g carbo.; 4.4 g fat; 0 mg chol.; 1 mg sodium.