Oma took my tip (though she probably didn't need it) to ensure all the stuff involving sharp edges was already done before little hands were brought into the mix. Oma peeled and grated the apples -- which took her about five seconds after spending a lifetime as a farm wife. I helped her set up Elli's steps, and off they went, rolling out the dough....
...mixing the cinnamon sugar into the apples....
...filling the pockets with apples...
and resisting as best they could the temptation to eat all the apples...
...no one is perfect. Honestly I can't blame Elli for sneaking a taste. They apples smelled heavenly! With a little help from Mommy, Oma showed Elli how to fold the dough gently over to form a half-moon. We didn't really like the word "pocket" to describe the creation, so we toyed with words like "pies," "tacos," and "dumplings." We stuck with "pies" because it sounded the most romantic. The next step was brush on some water. Yeah, sounded kind of strange to me too. Water? Really? I was thinking egg white, but Parents magazine obviously knows what they are talking about, so we showed some faith and followed the directions.
"Just like painting a picture," we told Elli, and showed her how to dip the pastry brush in the bowl of water and run the brush over the top of each pie. She took to it right away.
At this point, Oma questioned whether the cookie sheet should have been sprayed or lined or something.
"No, Oma, the recipe does not say anything about that."
Oma shrugged, but it was obvious she doubted the omnisience of Parents. Have faith, I told her, though I too harbored doubts.
We pressed forward. With a steady hand from Oma, Elli used a tablespoon to rain the remaining cinnamon sugar onto the pies.
Into the oven the pies went. They really did smell like apple pie as they were baking. And they really did stick to the pan. I should have known as much; the picture alongside the recipe of the happy mom and daughter who look nothing alike but are supposedly blood shows them using parchment paper. Hmph. Note to self: Listen to your mother, and your instincts.
Oma did manage to pry off all the pies and place them on a cooling rack for a few minutes. Elli was dying for a taste, so, though we were hoping to save the pies for supper, we tore into one. As a quality measure if nothing else. Elli gobbled her portion up quickly. Oma and I just looked at each other and said, almost simultaneously, "Bland."
We probably feel that way having had true-blue, sugar-coma apple pie and Oma's amazing baked apples with caramel and amaretto syrups. Daddy agreed that the pies needed something, although he was thinking more like ice cream. So, next time we definitely will use parchment paper and maybe add a little something to the pies for a bit more of a kick.
But regardless of how the food turns out, here at Cooking with Elli the emphasis lies on the memories made and the lessons learned. And what I learned was that Elli has the simple, unbiased love of a child and a gorgeous singing voice.
What would you add to this recipe to make it more lively? Let's takea vote:
a) caramel
b) different kind of dough
c) ice cream
d) other (please explain)
Well, everything tastes better with ice cream. You could also core an apple and stuff the core with brown sugar, cinnamon and a bit of butter on top. Wrap in foil and bake - YUMMO, and actually not to bad calorie wise as you're not using that much sugar in relation to the apple.
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