By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
I am still continuing my morning walks that I started with Ripley. I do miss her energy and just watching her enjoy being out. It is so sad to have lost her so soon but I still have Mud Puppy /aka/ Amber and Gracie, oh and I can’t forget Katy Kat. Momma Said, “Life is too short not to enjoy every minute.”
I will be cleaning up my flowerbeds and yard this weekend getting ready for the fall rains. It is so messy to try to do that when it is wet so I hope I can get it all done. Everything just keeps seeding itself and I keep giving stuff away. I dug up a bunch of hostas and black eyed susans last week and put them down by the road with a free sign. Needless to say they didn’t last very long.
I could do it again and still have too many of everything. That is the fallback of having perennials, you don’t have to plant new things every year but you do have to keep them in check. I try to cut everything before it goes to seed but sometimes I don’t make it and now the flowers are thick as hair on a dog’s back.
Another season comes to an end and another starts the cycle all over again. I just hope winter holds off as long as possible because I am not ready to be cold yet. I will enjoy every sunny day we can get. Momma Said, “Beggers can’t be choosers so take what you get with a smile on your face.”
Homemade McDonald’s Apple Pies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 apples peeled, cored and diced small
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon water
- store bought puff pastry
- egg wash
- cinnamon sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a shallow saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice, and cook gently until most of the liquid reduces and the apples have softened.
- In a small bowl mix the corn starch and water to make a ‘slurry’. Add this to the cooked apples stirring as you go. Allow to cook for 2 minutes to thicken the filling before removing it from the heat.
- Set the apple filling aside to cool down completely. Once cool you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen.
- Once the filling is cool, roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to roughly ⅛ inch thick.
- Cut into eight 4.5×6 inch rectangles and transfer to your prepared baking sheets. You can re-roll this pastry and make even more pies.
- For each pastry rectangle, scoop out 1-2 heaped teaspoons of apple filling and lay in the center of the pastry.
- Brush the edges with a touch of egg wash or milk, fold over, press and seal with the tines of a fork.
- Cut three slits in the top of each pastry for venting, brush with the egg wash or milk, and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, about 25-30 minutes.
Enjoy warm with cream or ice cream! Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to two days. Rewarm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes to re-crisp before eating.
- * A sharp, crisp, dessert apple will be best for this dessert. Adjust the sugar to taste.