September 1, 2025

Dutch Apple Pie

Posted by HI Cookery under 09 September, 10 October, 11 November | Tags: , , , |
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Dutch Apple Pie

September/October/November: National Apple Months

Washington State is famous for its apples. We pass by several apple orchards while visiting Highlander’s relatives who live there. His niece and Islander’s brother are alumni of Washington State University, and our goddaughter Mia A. currently resides in Seattle. We never got a chance to pick apples at the orchards there, though.

When we make our apple pies at home, we just pick our apples from the grocery store bins. Most are imported from Washington anyway. It is more labor intensive to cut up the apples, but we prefer it over the canned fruit for our pies (however, we sometimes cheat on the recipe by using frozen, store-bought crust, too). 

As apples are celebrated for three months in the fall, this was a great excuse to make Dutch apple pie (also known as apple crumb pie) often—besides, apple and cherry pies are Highlander’s favorites. 

This is not a pie recipe from the Netherlands, but the word Dutch is derived from Deutsch, which is German. It is the streusel (crumb) topping that was inspired by German desserts that make this pie uniquely delicious. Make the most of National Apple Months and try Dutch apple pie!

Recipe

(Adapted from Pillsbury and Southern Living)

For the streusel topping

  • 1 cup flour, all purpose
  • 2/3 cup pecans, chopped
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tablespoons sugar, granulated white
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (½ cup / 8 tablespoons) butter, unsalted and melted

For the apple pie

  • 5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced/chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup sugar, granulated white
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch ground nutmeg
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 deep dish frozen pie crust

Directions

Prepare the streusel/crumb topping first by mixing in a large bowl the flour, pecans, brown and white sugars and cinnamon.

Stir in the salt and melted butter. Mix until the topping resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside to make the pie filling.

Core, peel and slice/chop the apples. Place in a large bowl and toss in the lemon juice to prevent the apples from browning. Add the sugar and cornstarch.

Sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix well and mound the filling and juices into the frozen pie crust.

Press the streusel/crumb topping over the apples. The filling will sink in the center when baking so it will be flattened out. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Loosely place a piece of foil over the topping to prevent from burning and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the pie over a wire rack to cool completely and allow the flavors to gel. Slice into wedges and serve.

Notes

  • Make sure the filling has set before slicing or it will be too runny.
  • Place a pie crust shield or foil pieces on the rim of the pie to prevent overbrowning of the crust (optional).
  • Search our blog for other apple recipes.
 

February 1, 2024

Char Siu Sou

Posted by HI Cookery under 02 February | Tags: , , , |
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Char Siu Sou

February: Asian Lunar New Year

Kung hee fat choy! Happy Asian lunar new year! For our family celebration, we made delicious dumplings filled with char siu (red roast/BBQ pork). This dish is auspicious in that the color red is lucky and bright, and pork represents plenitude. The filling is packed in puff pastry, like a little purse full of treasures. And that is our wish for everyone in the coming year—that it is filled with the treasures of love, happiness, health and good fortune. Make char siu sou as part of a memorable lunar new year’s meal.

Recipe

(Adapted from Asian Inspirations)

Ingredients

  • ½ – ¾ cup char siu (BBQ pork)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 small shallots
  • 2 tablespoons char siu sauce
  • 5 (4+1) tablespoons water, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
  • 1 package puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sesame seeds

Directions

Chop the char siu and shallots into small pieces. In a skillet or frying pan, heat the oil and saute the shallots. Then add the char siu. Stir in the char siu sauce with four tablespoons of water and sesame oil.

In a small cup, mix the remaining one tablespoon of water with cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir into the char siu mixture to thicken the filling slightly. Set aside and cool.

Unwrap a sheet of puff pastry dough and slice into nine squares. Keep the dough cool as much as possible to avoid it being overstretched. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the square. Moisten the edges with beaten egg. Fold the dough over to close. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Place the dumplings on a tray lined with waxed or parchment paper. Brush beaten egg over them and sprinkle sesame seeds. 

Freeze until firm and transfer to a freezer bag or container. When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place frozen dumplings on the tray about two inches apart to allow for the pastry to puff up. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let rest for five minutes before transferring the dumplings to a serving platter. Serve hot.

Notes

  • This is a shortcut version of traditional char siu sou using store-bought puff pastry instead of from-scratch double dough layers. We assembled and froze our char siu sou and then baked them right before our new year’s celebration for an auspicious appetizer.
  • The char siu filling is also good in a baked biscuit as a quick bao. Take canned biscuit (not the flaky layers), separate each piece, flatten the dough, fill with a tablespoon of filling, gather up the ends with a slight twist until it is a ball, place seam side down on a lightly greased baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until golden. Serve immediately.
  • We bought char siu from the Asian hot food counter. Make it from scratch at home with this recipe.
  • Check out our other char siu recipes: baked bao, manapua, fried rice and somen salad (noodles).
  • Search our blog for other lunar new year recipes.

 

September 17, 2017

Apple Dumplings

Posted by HI Cookery under 09 September | Tags: , , , , |
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Apple Dumplings

September 17: National Apple Dumpling Day

When we lived in Illinois, we would visit the apple orchard at Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park, and attend some of the fall events there. When we lived in San Antonio, Texas, we took fall road trips with our friends to Lost Maples in Vanderpool then stopped by Love Creek Orchards Cider Mill and Country Store in Medina for a snack. We enjoyed eating desserts at these places made with fall’s quintessential fruit—the apple.

We have several apple recipes on our blog, but here is an easy glazed dumpling dessert we made especially for National Apple Dumpling Day. Apple dumplings are like mini apple pies but when apples are encased in rich puff pastry and served warm à la mode with vanilla ice cream, they become a fancier fall treat!

Celebrate National Apple Dumpling Day, three National Apple Months (September, October and November) and the autumn season with apple dumplings.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food Network)

For the apple dumplings

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons raisins
  • 2 tablespoons pecan chips
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 4 small apples (we used Granny Smith)
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • 2 teaspoons butter (divided into 4 pieces)
  • 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (for the egg wash), beaten

Directions

In a bowl, combine the sugar, raisins, pecan chips and ground cinnamon. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Mix till moistened.

Peel, core and slice the apples in half. Unfold the thawed puff pasty onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to about 12 inches square. Cut in quarters (6×6 inches). Place the apples on each square.

Spoon filling into the middle. Place butter pieces on top of the filling. Take the corners of the puff pastry square and fold towards the middle to seal the dumplings. Place them seal-side down on a lightly greased baking pan.

appledumplingssteps3

Brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. The pastry should puff up more, turn golden brown and soften the apples inside. Transfer to a wire rack.

For the glaze

  • 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

In a small pan, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, water and butter. Simmer over medium low heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the liquid is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Brush over the apple dumplings. Serve in individual dessert plates with vanilla ice cream (optional).

Notes

  • Search our blog for more apple recipes.