As a continuation from my fabulous birthday trip, we stopped on our way home at Louisburg Orchard and Cider Mill. We had previously purchased some Arkansas Black apples at the City Market in KC, but we wanted more. We found cheap Jonathan apples at the orchard’s shop.
What do you do when you buy a bushel of apples direct from the orchard for a mere $12.95?
You make apple butter, can up some apple pie filling, and make pie.
Having that many apples allows a bit of experimentation.
Five Spice Apple Pie
based on Five-Spice Apple Pie4 lbs. Jonathan apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
1/2 c. unsweetened apple juice
1/2 T. ClearJel*
1 1/4 t. Chinese Five Spice
1 T. butter, melted
1/2 T. sugar
dough for a two-crust pie
1-2 T. milkPreheat oven to 425 degrees. Place sliced apples in a large mixing bowl. Place the apple juice, Clear Jel, Chinese Five Spice, butter, and sugar in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour over apples and toss.
Place bottom crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Load in apples. Top with upper crust and crimp edges. Cut vents in top crust. Brush top crust with milk.
Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. (It will bubble over).
Bake at 425 degrees for 55-65 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
*ClearJel is a specially modified form of corn starch, recommended by the USDA for use as a thickener in home canning and homemade pie fillings. I have some in the pantry from canning up pie fillings and some really weird pickles. (If you can’t find ClearJel, use some cornstarch or even flour for a thickener.) There is a great thick apple pie filling recipe that uses Clear Jel in Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
This is a tart, not-too-sweet pie that does need the ice cream.
This is not your grandmother’s apple pie but it is a great change of pace.
I haven’t baked any apple pie in a really long while…it’s time to make one for the holiday! Yours looks superb, Debra.
Thank you, Angie. The spices add an unexpected flavor to this holiday pie.
The alternate spicing is a very creative idea! Now someone needs to do the same for pumpkin pie.
I like the way you think, Mae.
Oh, it looks delicious. I’m making an apple pie for Thanksgiving, so I will definitely consider the spice; in fact, I just bought a new jar of it. Thanks for the recipe.
Hope you like it Pam. Please let me know.
What a lovely spicy pie, the perfect dessert – now if only it would cool down here! 😛
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
And, only if it would warm up here….:)
Ok going to try commenting again! This apple pie looks delicious! I wish it was cooler here so I would feel like going near my oven 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
OK—you’re still going to spam but I am checking before I just randomly delete it all. Don’t feel bad. Pam went there, too.
Might just be a wordpress random thing then 😛 Thanks for checking and I hope they fix it soon 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hey you experiencing a fab birthday trip——Happy late, but still awesome birthday! What an inspired idea to use Chinese Five Spice. I am jazzed by that and I am doing just that when I bake a new pie. And I will not be so lucky to get a bushel of apples for $12.95 unless I go east of the mountains. Washington is the apple state but not on the Western side.
I bet you could get them cheaper than that in Washington. Thanks for the birthday wishes.
A bushel of apples for $12.95? Where do I sign up? How clever to use Chinese 5-spice in an apple pie and a great looking pie it is! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
We were going by there last weekend again, but they were all out. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
Wow, what a deal! Pie would come first for me — who can resist pie? Love the spicing of this — very creative. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Mrs. KR!!!!!!
I stopped down at the local orchard today to see if there were any apple available and to my dismay, it was closed! It doesn’t look good being closed the day before Thanksgiving but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The problem is, should I bake an Apple Pie or Ugly Apple Cake? After see your adventurous take on this Five Spice Apple Pie, the question lingers longer. It sure looks prety darn good, Debra. I’m sure it tastes pretty darn good too, if not totally unique.
Thanks for sharing, Debra…this was a fun catch-up!!!
I think you should perfect that ugly apple cake. 🙂
What a great idea to add 5Spice to the apple pie. I bet it was a wonderful combo with the apples.
It was Margaret. I am thinking about how to use the spice in preserves.