Football Apple Crumb

The neighbors invited us over to watch one of the NFL Playoff games this past weekend, so I offered to bring this little delight over. In actuality, my husband secured our invitation with promises of pie and his homemade guacamole. It did not disappoint! My only complaint is that the crumb topping didn't look quite right. It tasted great, but it didn't clump and golden up the way it was supposed to. I suspect it's because I tried mixing up the topping without the nuts first, and then adding in the nuts once it was already pretty well blended. Next time, I'll stick to the instructions. Blend ALL the topping ingredients together with your fingertips.

Football Apple Crumb Pie
filling:
5 large (larger than fist) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, thickly sliced
1 large Stayman apple, peeled, cored, thickly sliced
1/4c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. white sugar, heaped
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. arrowroot starch
1/4 c. applesauce

topping:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a pie dish with homemade pie crust. Prick all over with a fork. Stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375F. Place pie weights in crust and bake for 12-15 min. Remove pie weights and continue baking for another 12-15 min, until the crust is golden brown.
Mix all filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into pie crust. Using your fingers, blend ALL the topping ingredients together until well-mixed, moist, and crumbly. Heap on top of pie filling. Bake at 350F for about one and a half hours. Crumb topping will be nice and brown, but not burned and apples will be soft when pierced with a fork.

Current Pie Tally: 72