Apple Crumb Pie

It's Teacher Appreciation week again in our local school system. The PTO at my girls' school provides a meal for the staff on the Wednesday of this special week. For three years I've been asked to provide all the homemade pies for dessert, and for three years I've agreed to the task.

This year I hadn't heard anything about the meal until quite late. I stopped in the office a couple of weeks ago on my way to volunteer in Ava's classroom. The principal turned all smiley and charming and told me the teachers really hoped to get homemade pies again this year. I thought it was strange I hadn't heard anything from the PTO yet. After a little investigating, I learned that my buddies in the Parent/Teacher Organization had set out to protect my busy schedule (and sanity) and had taken the homemade pies "off the table."

I never thought of myself as the co-dependant type, but knowing that a group (or even just one person) wanted some of my baking so badly caused me to volunteer to donate time I didn't have if PTO would cover the expenses. And so, after getting home from the Little League field at 8:30 PM on Tuesday, I set to work.

I planned to make six pies and that's what I made last year, but I think I accidentally made seven. My pies were: apple crumb, rhubarb, strawberry, frozen coconut, peach cream, peanut butter, and banana cream. Whenever I make a large batch of pies, I like to make both peanut butter and banana cream because I can just make an extra large batch of vanilla pudding and either pour it over peanut butter crumbs or banana slices. The pies definitely got eaten, but the banana pie was the last one (by far) to be chosen. I wonder if I should make it again.

The quickest to disappear were the strawberry and rhubarb.

If I did it for the adulation, I was not disappointed. I'm a little embarrassed about how much it meant to me.

Here is my recipe for Apple Crumb Pie.

3 c. peeled and sliced apples (I like Granny Smiths for baking.)


1 c. sugar


2 T flour
1 dash of cinnamon


1 unbaked pie shell


Mix these first four ingredients together in a bowl.




Then, put in unbaked pie shell.


Make crumbs of the following:

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
3 T margarine


Pour over the apples in the pie crust. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 until done - about 30 minutes more.