Heirloom Flop

When I rushed over to the Silver Spring Farmer's Market to pick up Ginger Gold apples (only 1 vendor had them!) for the pie contest, I noticed the vendor also had some sweet-tart Grimes Golden heirloom apples for sale. I had never used them before, but the sign advertised that they were great for baking. Since I am fond of sweet-tart apples, I decided to get some. I then did a side-by-side taste test comparison between them and the Ginger Gold. The Grimes were tarter (to the point where they give you the mild sensation of moisture being sucked out of your mouth), firmer, and harder to peel. Since I didn't like the flavor as well as the Ginger Gold, I did not use them in the pie contest. Thank goodness! To capitalize on the amount of work and dirty dishes, I decided to make an Apple Crumb Pie in addition to the cinnamon roll topped one and used the Grimes apples in that. I figured I would keep the Apple Crumb as my consolation prize if I didn't win anything in the pie contest. Well, the resulting pie was OK, but not my best work. The Grimes apples were lacking in flavor and turned to moisture-sucking mush when baked in the pie. Oh well, live and learn. I blame the false advertising at the market. Ginger Gold all the way! With the exception that the Apple Crumb was a 10" deep dish pie, the recipe for the filling and bottom crust for this pie are the same as my pie contest entry (Apple Pie with Cinnamon Roll Top Crust, my last blog post). Here is the crumb topping:

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

In a large bowl, rub all topping ingredients together with your fingers until it forms crumbly clumps. Place topping on top of filled pre-baked pie crust. Bake at 350F for about 40 min. Cool and enjoy.

Current Pie Tally: 121