Apple Pie Weather

I should be done by early this afternoon with the hats on todays schedule from my long list of hat orders. The Etsy shop has been very busy over the past month with hats going all over the place. Two hats were even sent to Ireland. That was my first overseas sale but received another order for a fox hat to be sent to Australia last night. Grammas Gifts are going all over this year. A new and exciting adventure!

This is my new little panda, besides the flock of turkeys I have to do I am working on a couple giraffe designs for another customer. This is the fun part.... designing new hats from customer suggestions!  The I must get ready for the next show coming up. I have two shows set on on November 9th at the hospital in Oshkosh and one Thanksgiving weekend in Randolph.  

This is a customers photo with her little one in my frog hat. They just make the hats look so good  Thank you all

http://www.etsy.com/shop/grammasgifts

  Years ago, now I am making myself sound old. I had a coworker at Michaels Arts and Crafts that made the best Apple Pie. She said , and we thought she was joking that she precooked the apples. Well, I found a recipe where you do just that and this afternoon when the boys come in from playing we are going to give it a try. The house will smell wonderful and what a kick they get out of helping to bake.


http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/applepie.htm

A classic dessert or tea time treat has to be a traditional apple pie. This traditional apple pie recipe is quick and easy and ensures a perfect result every time. Use cooking or Bramley apples for the best filling, eating apples don't soften the same way.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• Pastry
• 7 oz/200g all purpose/plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 stick/ 110g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
• Filling
• 1 ½ lbs/700g cooking apples, peeled, cored and quartered
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup/ 100g sugar
• 4 - 6 tbsp cold water
• 1 level tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ stick/25g butter
• Milk to glaze

Preparation:

Method

• Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
• Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.
• Wrap the dough in Saran wrap/Clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

The dough can also be made in a food processor by mixing the flour, butter and salt in the bowl of the processor on a pulse setting. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add the water, slowly, through the funnel until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in Saran wrap/ Clingfilm and chill as above.

Heat the oven to 425°F/220°C/gas 7.

• Meanwhile simmer the apples with the lemon juice and water in a large pan until soft. Add the sugar and cinnamon to the cooked apples. Remove from the heat and add the butter and leave to cool.
• Roll out half the pastry and line a 7 inch/13cm pie dish. Put the cooled, cooked apple mixture to the pastry case.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the pie. Damp the edges of the pastry in the dish with a little cold water, cover with the lid and press the edges firmly together and crimp the edges to decorate.
• Brush the top of the pie with milk and bake at the top of a hot oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
• Serve hot or cold with cream, ice cream or custard sauce.

Costume Alternatives for kids

Once again I am busy coming up with some costume ideas for the two little guys in my life. Last year the baby Carsen , who is now one and running around was an adorable skunk. I made the hat and bought a pair of black sweats and he was warm and toasty as we did our trick or treating. JJ was a frog, again I bought a pair of green sweats that he wore until they didnt fit. The hats were also worn all winter, the ear flaps came in handy here in Wisconsin. A funny side story to this is that I have two granddaughters in high school who also had frog hats made and proudly wore them all winter, who knew it would be so easy to keep their ears covered. Then started taking orders for their friends. A college student from, New York ordered a skunk hat last year too from my Etsy shop. I have added a couple new  animals but the boys favorite this season is the dinosaur. Their favorite show on PBS is Dinosaur Train. So, I am making dinosaur sweaters in all kinds of colors and combinations.  My fingers are working non stop, if only I could crochet in my sleep.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Grammasgifts is my shop for all the cute costume alternatives and baby items!