If you’re not sure if you should bake a pie, here’s a quick questionnaire to review before picking up a pound of apples and getting coated in flour:

-Do you have nothing else to do for the next three hours?
-Do you have a sufficient playlist on your portable music device to get you through that length of time?
-Do you plan on going out for dinner tonight?
-Are your fully caffeinated with additional iced coffee at the ready?

If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you may be ready to make a pie. Grab a rolling pin, a whole bunch of apples, and check out this recipe.

Lynne’s Pie in the Sky Apple Pie, from The Splendid Table

Pie Crust:
-2 1/3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (measure by dipping cup into the flour sack and then sweeping off any excess with a flat knife blade)
-1 tablespoon sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-2 sticks unsalted butter, each cut into 4 or 5 pieces
-1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
-5 to 7 tablespoons ice water or iced apple juice

Filling:

-6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced about 1/2-inch thick (don’t use Golden Delicious – they will ruin the pie)
-juice of 1 large lemon
-1/2 to 2/3 tightly packed cup dark brown sugar
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon allspice
-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Crust Glaze:
-1 egg, beaten
-3 tablespoons sugar

1. To make the pie crust take a large plastic bag and have the children measure in all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt) and toss them together. Add the butter to the bag and seal it. Put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

2. Turn the contents into a big bowl. Ask the young ones to make sure their hands are clean. Then show them how to blend the flour with the butter by rubbing them together with fingertips. Don’t use palms because the heat will melt the butter. The butter should be in big flakes (about 2 inches long).

3. Now have them sprinkle the vinegar and 5 tablespoons ice water over the dough. With a fork toss everything until it’s barely moistened. Try to gather the dough into a ball. If too dry, sprinkle with 2 more tablespoons water, toss lightly, and then gather the dough into a ball.

4. Divide the dough into 2 balls (one slightly larger than the other), wrap up, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

5. Toss together the apples and lemon juice. Add the other ingredients for the filling, tasting for sweetness. Turn into a sieve and set over a bowl. Leave for 30 minutes.

6. Grease a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Roll out the bigger piece of dough on a well-floured board into a big circle that’s about 1/8-inch thick. Lightly flour the top of the dough to keep it from sticking. Fit it into the pie pan, leaving about a 2-inch overhang. (Save scrapes for decorating the pie) Chill 30 minutes

7. Spread a piece of foil over a cookie sheet. Roll out remaining dough to a circle that’s about 16 inches in diameter. Set on the foil and chill 30 minutes.

8. Turn the drained juices from the filling into a saucepan and boil them into a thick syrup. Scrape back into the apples. (Mo Note: Add this thick syrup to the apples as quickly as possible while still hot. It will harden as it begins to cool.)

9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

10. Fill the bottom of the pie shell with apples, mounding them high and pressing out air pockets. Cover with the big round of pastry. Seal edges together by rolling the overhang over the top crust and pinching them together. There should be a high ridge of crust on the pie plate rim.

11. Brush beaten egg over the top of the pie. Cut out a few steam holes. Cut out stars or leaves from the dough scrapes. Arrange on the crust, brush with more egg and sprinkle with sugar. (Mo Note: A pastry brush is definitely worth investing in. When egg isn’t evenly brushed over the top of the pie, it can pool and create a crunchier crust than desired.)

12. Bake on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes to an hour, or until apples are tender when you pierce them through one of the steam holes. Cool the pie on a rack while you start dinner. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I’m still not sure if I’ll end up entering the bake-off, but I am glad that I can successfully make a pie, albeit a slightly crunchy one (see overdone eggwash below).

The swiss cheese in this simile could easily be replaced with a blueberry muffin, as I often feel like the cakey space between the deep purple pockets of blueberries goes on far too long. My answer to this dilemma is a recipe for Extreme Blueberry Muffins: where extreme meets blueberry. It’s a recipe for those who love muffins, but use them as a vehicle for fruit.

This recipe is adapted from one by Alton Brown that uses no butter, but does use yogurt. The result is a very light muffin that has just the right amount of sweetness. I should also note that it’s not the most beautiful muffin, but it tastes great.

Extreme Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Alton Brown
Yields 12 muffins

-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-Heavy pinch salt
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-1 egg
-1 cup yogurt
-2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients reserving 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss with the blueberries. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Add 1 1/2 cups blueberries to mixture and stir 3 more times. Reserve the 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Add the mixture to greased muffin pans (Mo note: I recommend not using the muffin cups if you want to have the whole muffin be slightly crispy). Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel or paper towel to cool completely (Mo note: Because of the amount of blueberries in each muffin, they will be fragile until fully cooled. Turn out with caution). Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.