Chick Lit Cheerleader: The Sweet Life

Earlier this year, Chick Lit Cheerleader Jen Tucker did a review of Lauren Clark's novel Pie Girls. Who knew that Jen was a Pie Girl herself?!? (Anyone...anyone....?) She's here today to talk about sweets and share a special recipe with all of us.

We now leave you in Jen's capable hands, so get your aprons on and start your ovens!

The REAL Pie Girl!

I want to let you in on a little secret. I love desserts. No, really. The kind of love that would make a grade school playground bully ask me if I wanted to marry them. My answer would be a resounding “Yes! Yes, I want to marry chocolate cake along with its sibling, vanilla cake drenched in buttercream frosting, least we forget their cousin, cupcakes!” I could go on and on…

When dining out, I’m the girl who flips to the back of the menu first. I need to know my dessert choices so I can plan my meal accordingly. A warm slice of apple pie will require more tummy room than chocolate mousse. One choice requires me to stick with a salad while the other allows me to dive head first into a petite filet and mashed potatoes yet still have plenty of room for something sweet after. As you can see, it’s all about priorities.

My dad has taught me many important life truths: to be kind to others, always do my best no matter the task before me, and that ice cream always fills in the cracks. If you nosh on an overkill plate of spaghetti and meatballs, after you’ve filled up on bread sticks, never fear! There’s still room for dessert because ice cream is here! It fills in the nooks and crannies in your belly. I’m sure this hypothesis is true because my dad is an engineer and it sounds super science-y, right?

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it would be nice if I shared a dessert recipe with you. I’m in charge of desserts at our family gatherings. I’m not sure if that’s because the consensus is I rock at creating confectionary treats, or if they think I would flunk turkey stuffing.

But I digress…

Apple pie is my husband’s favorite. He’s a pretty tough cookie (See what I did there? Desserts? Cookies?) when it comes to apple pie. I’d dare say his palate for baked apples reaches snobbish levels. For you, my dear CLC-ers, here’s my apple pie recipe. It’s a hodgepodge of different recipes I’ve tried over the years, taking a little of this and a whole lot of that to make, what Mike deems, the best apple pie, of all apple pies, that were ever apple pies.
Enjoy!

Crumble Top Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 Refrigerated pie crust (follow package instructions to thaw)

FILLING:
4 cups tart apples, peeled, cut into small chunks (I prefer Granny Smith)
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

TOPPING:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup cold butter

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-inch pie plate.
• Place pastry into pie plate.
• Trim pastry to 1/2 inches beyond edge of plate then flute, or pinch, edges. Poke the bottom of the crust in several places with a fork.
• Combine apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour onto crust.
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour and sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
• Bake 50-60 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 8 servings.

Jen Tucker is the author of the funny and true stories, The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out and The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. In September 2012, she had her children's book, Little Pumpkin published as an e-book. She also blogs monthly for Survival for Blondes. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband, three kids and two dogs. You can find her at Twitter, Facebook, her blog and on her website. And in case you missed them. check out her previous Chick Lit Cheerleader posts here.