easy as pie

I've never understood the term "easy as pie". It's definitely not that easy to make (though it sure is easy to eat!). To be honest, I've only ever liked the inside filling of pies. If you ever meet a girl with pie filling on the edge of her lips and an empty crust on her plate, chances are, you've probably run into me...hello!

A cousin of mine served these caramelized apples for dessert once, and I've been desperately trying to recreate the recipe. The apples were so tender and comforting, and tasted exactly like that first bite of fresh-out-of the oven, barely-cooled-on-the-windowsill apple pie. Here's what I've come up with so far (recipe follows).

Apples! Spartan, Pink Lady & Crispin

I made two apples' worth of dessert.
These three slices were unfortunately all that was left at the time of the photo shoot!

Warm Caramelized Apples (from Foodland Ontario)

Crispin apples work well for this recipe - they're not too sweet and have a bit of spice to them. Plus, it stays firm when cooked (not mushy like some other apples). You can serve this over ice cream or on top of crepes, but I like to eat it on its own.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp (25 mL) butter
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cardamom or cinnamon
• 4 Ontario apples, unpeeled, cored and cut into wedges

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, reduce heat.
3. Add apples and cook, stirring gently, approx 6-8 minutes. (Apples should be tender but not mushy).
4. Serve warm.

Enjoy!