Cinnamon Roll Crust & Apple Pie recipes

I love Pinterest, I see so many wonderful ideas.  I also like adapting them for my cooking style.  I got the cinnamon/sugar recipe for crust off Pinterest and combined it with a ready made crust. It looks so pretty! I also saw this on Pintrosity because some users pinned and labeled the photo in a way readers thought they actually used cinnamon rolls.  Not so, cinnamon rolls will leave you with a really puffy and tiny pie cavity to fill.   That's one GOOD reason to click through a Pinterest posting and read the original post.  I used the pie in a jar idea to make my little individual pies. There is a good recipe on this site for the pies, but you can short cut it and use canned pie filling too.   I'm a little more on the "Semi Homemade" side when it comes to cooking.  The result was fantastic.  I can't wait for the next family event to take these.

Roll out pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar

Roll dough with cinnamon & sugar inside.
Slice 1/2" slices
press inside jar, leave no spaces

Fill with pie recipe
Bake 350 F 50-60 min.

If you're against ready made pie crust and canned pie filling, here are recipes for the totally homemade version, which I can do, I just had a short cut kind of day when I made these and it never hurts to be prepared for a quick dessert when you're not in the cooking mood but you ARE in the eating mood!

Easy pastry recipe: 
for 2 crust pie
In a food processor; put

• 2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour, 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, 
• 2/3 Cup shortening (the firm kind-not oil or melted), Pulse until the mixture looks like pea size pellets.  
• Drizzle in 8 Tablespoons COLD water. 

Pulse till the dough begins to ball up into a big ball.  If it is still crumbly and not sticking together into a ball add 2 more Tablespoons COLD water.  Divide the dough into 2 balls.  Wrap one in plastic wrap and put in the fridge while you work with the other half. Turn one ball of dough out onto a floured surface.  Flatten with your hands then use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough.  For the cinnamon/sugar dough pictured above, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the flat piece of rolled dough.  Now, roll the dough with the sugar/cinnamon inside.  Cut into 1/2 slices.  Place the slices in your baking container and press flat-together leaving no spaces.

Apple pie:
Peal, core, dice

• 4 tart apples (Cortland, Granny Smith, Jonathan)

Coat the apples with the dry ingredients by tossing them about with:

• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Place enough of the apple mixture in each pastry lined jar to come to the rim.  Top with a pat of butter (about a teaspoon slice). Cover with a circle of pastry (that you cut using the lid rim). Brush the top with milk,  Sprinkle some granulated sugar and  cinnamon on top and bake 350 F 40 minutes.

Apples Dumplings for 1 or 2

There were two apples just sitting in the fruit bin calling out my name as I walked by.  They said "buy us, we'd make a really good baked apple..."  So I picked up the perfectly shaped red fruit and headed to the check out line.  After a light supper (we still just "sup" at our house)  I rummaged through the pantry and freezer to find ingredients that compliment the apple flavor.  I pulled out a Pillsbury ready crust, some chopped pecans, Carmel bits, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar.  I really wanted raisins or dried cranberries, but there weren't any.  I love the smell of baked apples almost as much as the taste.  So does hubs.  The nice thing about this recipe is that I could make just two for us.

I trimmed the crust from this cicle out of the box to a smaller square.

Pour the last of the brown sugar syrup over the dumpling & serve

Baked Apple Dumpling for 1 or more

Pre-heat oven 375 F.
For each apple, cut a square about 8" from pie crust.
Core the apple and cut a little off the top to make a funnel shape.
Sit the apple in the middle of the crust square.
Sprinkle a little cinnamon and nutmeg in the core opening of the apple.
Push a few Carmel bits into the core opening of the apple and a pinch of chopped nuts.
Pull the crust up and around the apple.  Press the seams tightly closed but leave an opening at the top to allow the apple to vent.
Place the apple(s) in a baking dish.  No need to grease the dish.
Make a basting liquid with 4 or 5 Tablespoons of brown sugar and about the same amount of water. Pour some over the pastry covered apple.  Baste with the brown sugar liquid a couple of times while it bakes.
Bake 375 F 50-60 minutes.  The crust will be golden brown and the smell will be divine.

If you have them, and if there's space, you can alternately add a few raisins or dried cranberries with the Carmel bits, or instead of the Carmel - or try substituting 2 or 3 mini marshmallows instead of the Carmel. 

1 kind act:  make  an extra baked apple for hubs lunch tomorrow. It's the least I could do since he made the supper. :-)

Party linked up at Throw Back Thursday

S'up?

Friday nights are my favorite. It's usually every man/woman/boy/girl for them self when it comes to supper. BTW - we sup at our house. Some people dine. My high school home making teacher told me supper is an informal meal and dinner is usually a formal meal, often in some one's honor. So, we sup.

Tonight's "sup" (also Texas slang for "what's up") will take advantage of a left over 1/2 loaf of French bread and whatever is in the fridge. That's enough for the two of us...

French Bread Supper

left over bakery bread
butter or olive oil
Italian spices
tomato slices
bell pepper slices
salt & pepper
Canadian bacon, pepperoni, turkey slices
cheese
shredded lettuce
Creamy Italian dressing

1. Split the loaf of bread in half length wise.
2. Spread some butter or olive oil over the cut sides.  Sprinkle some Italian spices over the butter/oil.  I use an Italian mix that has parsley, thyme, oregano, garlic powder.  You can use whatever you have.
3. Toast under the broiler until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven.
4. If you like your tomato slices toasted like I do, add the tomatoes, salt & pepper then toast a few more minutes.
5. Add some cheese slices (tonight I'll be using Mozzarella) to the top bread slice and melt it at the same time you grill the tomato.
6. Load up one side of the bread with ingredients from your fridge.  I love Canadian bacon, pepperoni slices, thin sliced deli turkey.
7. .Add shredded lettuce.
8. Top with some salad dressing and the other side of the toasted bread.
9. Turn on a classic movie and enjoy!

Valentine sensation out of the bucket

I wonder if St. Valentine knew what a senstion he would stir in our modern world.  Of all the legends out there, I like the one that claims Saint Valentine defied the Emperor Claudius II by secretly performing marriages for soldiers.  And God bless the man who sent the first valentine. 

My hubs started our Valentine celebration last evening with flowers so I made our special week night dinner of steak, asparagas spears, roast corn cobs and gilled red pepper rings.  We were pretty stuffed, so tonight will be dessert night off Pinterest.  I'll be cooking up a beautiful heart pastry pinned from http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chocolate-raspberry-hearts/4dd3a0d9-b0ff-48f4-98fb-10d24766ff1e

Doesn't it look fabulous? 
PS.  Someone once told me how to remember if it is desert or dessert.  Desserts add pounds to our rear ends, so the word has an added s.  (If you have a Texas accent, S comes out sounding a bit like ass).

1 kind act:  Give a valentine to someone annonomously