September 13, 2015

Celebrate autumn's return with this great vintage Rosy Apple Pie recipe


The hours of daylight are drawing shorter, sunshine take longer to awaken in the morning, and dew - soon to be frost - hangs heavy on each blade of browning grass and wind-kissed leaf as each new day breaks.

There is a near palpable excitement in the air, fall is little more than a week away and with it comes the return of many, many scrumptious foods - scores of which are just starting to hit their stride in terms of seasonal availability and freshness.

Without a doubt, there is no fruit that personifies autumn more than apples. Sure, others - pears and grapes, for example - speak of this golden tinged chapter of the year, but it is apples, for countless centuries now, that have heralded fall's triumphant return and brought such joy to our dining tables.

In celebration of the fact that the seasons are changing hands again and the abundance of locally grown apples that are out in full force here in the Okanagan (Canada's most famous and, I believe, prolific, apple growing region), I thought that it would be fun to shine the spotlight on a delicious vintage recipe for apple pie.

This circa 1940s recipe for Rosy Apple Pie has a fun twist, the flavour of which just ups the autumnal-ness of this tasty dish all the more in my books - cinnamon candies. Of course, if Red Hots aren't your favourite or they're hard to come by where you live, by all means swap them out for some regular powdered cinnamon from your spice rack instead (and likewise, as I always say, if shortening isn't up your alley, by all means use favourite suitable cooking fat, such as butter or margarine, here in lieu of it).



{I love how the pretty red tinge from the cinnamon candies in this vintage apple pie recipe lend it an even more autumnal note that is redolent of seasonal garnet hued maple leaves and glowing fall time sunsets. Vintage recipe image source.}



Apples are one of my favourite fruits ever. They're filling, contain healthy fiber, are great for you, and can be put to work in a plethora of savoury and sweet dishes alike (I'm especially fond, come autumn time, of slowly pan cooking them with sweet onions, thyme, black pepper, and a dash of cinnamon or all spice, and serving them with roasted or grilled meats and/or vegetables). It would be a crime against the season, assuming you're able to safely eat them (aka, that they don't both you from a medical standpoint), not to load up on scores of them while they're at their fall time finest.

I always make a point to do just that, even picking our own from various local orchards some years. In pies (for all my fellow gluten-free folks out there, this pie works fabulously with your favourite GF pie crust, fear not; I've made it numerous times, so I speak from experience), muffins, cakes, pastries, scones, fruit salads, candy and caramel apples, parfaits, baked whole, and scores of other dishes, apples are the cheerful, satisfying taste of the season that helps to make saying good bye to summer and all of its own marvelous produce a whole lot easier to bear.

Add corn on the cob, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, squash, late season tomatoes and green beans, and other awesome autumn vegetables to the table and you've got a veritable feast of seasonable loveliness to indulge in. I swear, my stomach start rumbling at the mere thought. Good thing I've got plenty of September crop apples in the fridge! :)

27 comments:

  1. This pie sounds brilliant! We have a pie maker machine, which will do four small pies at once. We use it a lot to make pies for dinner with leftovers, particularly leftover roasts. As we have our own livestock (lambs, pigs and cattle), we have all our own meat and therefore a lot in the freezer...so roast dinners are a common thing in a our household. There's always plenty of meat left over so into the pie maker it goes the next evening. However it does do ripper apple pies...and frankly whatever you want to put in there. The idea of adding cinnamon is a good one!
    Amber
    http://www.sweetwordsprettypictures.com

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    1. Yum, that sounds so fantastic! I adore meat pies of all sizes. They were a staple food (much like stew) when I was growing up and remain such for me to this day. How lovely that you have a pie maker. One day should I have the room (our home and kitchen are modest sized and I really don't have space for additional appliances, even tiny ones, at the moment....though perhaps I could find room for it in the basement...), I would really like to invest in one, too.

      Thank you very much for your great comment - and for all of your blog love here lately, dear lady. I wholeheartedly appreciate it!

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. Oh my goodness!! I am so excited to get out to the apple orchards and do some apple picking and make so much apple pie! I love this time of year so much more than any other (yes, even if it has been non stop raining all morning!)

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    1. Same here across the board (save for the rain). The local trees are starting to produce apples and pears and it's all I can do not to buy them by the ton! :)

      Big hugs & happy Monday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  3. Hello Jessica, now I'm running, I have to leave tomorrow for sea and here is really bad weather, it seems that autumn has arrived sooner than expected ... I hope tomorrow the best time! This cake has an aspect so inviting and it exudes warmth and sweetness! I'll take a giant slice, thanks dear!

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  4. Yum! The cinnamon candies is this sound like they'd add a delightful touch!

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    1. Very much so! I'm a massive cinnamon fan and have cooked with Red Hots before. They work wonderfully in baked goods and mellow a bit, I find, in terms of intensity once cooked.

      Tons of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. I would never have thought of putting sweets into a pie! But cinnamon and apple are a match made in heaven... I actually don't like raw apple much at all, but give me aaaalll the baked apple ever please! Especially in a fruit crumble, yum! x

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    1. Yum!!! For sure! I love apple crumbles/crisps/buckles and the like and kicked off my autumn baking season by serving a GF cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar apple crisp for dessert at that dinner party I hosted last month.

      Big hugs & happy apple baking! :)
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. The addition of the cinnamon candy sounds like such fun—and warming, too, as the nights cool down. Thank you for sharing this, Jessica! (Though since I found a gluten-free shortbread-y pie crust recipe today...perhaps I'll give that a whirl...)

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    1. My sincere pleasure, dear Jen. How awesome that your found a GF shortbread-y style pie crust. That sounds fantastic! Please feel free to share the link to it (assuming you found it online :)) with me anytime, my fellow GF gal.

      Big hugs & happy autumn baking,
      ♥ Jessica

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  7. Cinnamon candies in the recipe. Yum! And the part where 9 out of 10 doctors said Crisco was digestible? Wow. Look how far Crisco has come. Another delightful recipe to try out. Thank you Jessica for finding it and sharing it with us.

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    1. Aren't the medical endorsements in old ads hilarious (and occasionally frightening) at times? The ones that have me rolling my eyes the most are those in smoking ads where it said things like "3 out of 4 doctors smoke and recommend X brand cigarettes to their patients". It always makes me wonder what future generations will look back on this era and be amazed that we did such unhealthy things during.

      Big hugs & happy Monday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. My fav apple is red delicious!
    http://inkandlacedesigns.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. You and Tony both! I'm a big fan as well and often use them when making caramel apples - which is another massive autumn time must for me. :)

      Many hugs & happy Monday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  9. I am hopeless - I know that I need to eat more fruits and vegetables and I am trying, but well, not all in one go! I really liked to know that apples are one of your favorite fruits - not my favorite, but I can eat it well if... someone gives it to me. Just like a spoiled baby, and I am not even ashamed to confess :) But in a pie or tart I can easily eat them! I want to bake some, cause it's a delicious way of having apples :) Thanks for reminding me of that, dear Jessica! Hugs and kisses!
    DenisesPlanet.com

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    1. Hi lovely Denise, thank you very much for your comment. It's great that you're a fan of apples too, particularly if they're in a dessert. Do you like apple sauce? If so, that could be one handy way for you to consume more fruit - plus apple sauce itself can be added to countless baked goods and desserts, from breads to tarts to trifles.

      Big hugs & happy Wednesday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. Pie season ... My american hub has to bake me some harvest pies ... YUM!

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  11. Mmmm, now you have me craving apple pie! I may have to buy some apples and bake myself a pie... I have a hand-cranked apple peeler/slicer/corer that makes prepping the apples super easy. :)

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    1. How lovely! We had one of those when I was little and my mom would can dozens of jars of apple sauce and/or apple jam some years. It was metal with green enamel on it and looked, though wasn't actually, the antique part rather nicely, as I recall.

      Happy apple season, sweet lady!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Oh my gosh that sounds amazing! I'm definitely going to have to try this. I might use cinnamon imperials instead of red hots though. I'd love it if you'd check out my blog! www.thymewarplife.blogspot.com

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  13. o look forward to many apple pies from our local farms! last weekend we drove past a huge field from where we were greeted with bright red apples a million!
    i usually mix brown sugar with cinnamon to drizzle it in great amounts over the apples before i bake the pie - up side down without crust. the juice from the apples and the sugar/cinnamon mix make for a yummy sirup that sinks in the dough after turning around after baking - marvelous!!!
    xxxxxx

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    1. How beautiful sounding!!! The orchards are dotted with countless ruby hued fruits around here now, too, it is truly beautiful - this who magical time of the year is!

      Yum! That sounds great! I often combine brown sugar + apples (+ cinnamon or allspice) and will have to give that particular technique a go the next time I bake an apple pie. Thank you for sharing your delicious trick with me/us.

      Tons of hugs & happy end of summer wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  14. This will go straight to my Vintage Recipes board on Pinterest. Sounds and looks very delicious. I have a very old apple tree, sour apples, which I have made different things from. Once I even cut them in boats and slices and put them in the freezer to make a quick apple pie with. I think I should do so again. And apples and cinnamon is one of the finest food marriages ever, love it! What I also love is that vintage ads always are so charming. Thank you for sharing this autumn appropriate recipe, dear. :)

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    1. It truly is! If you offer me something chocolate or something apple cinnamon, as much as I do like chocolate, a good 8 out 10 times, I'll take the apple cinnamon treat instead. It's so comforting, homey, nostalgic (for me), and above all, delicious! :)

      Big hugs & happy apple harvest season!
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. We don't get those cinnamon sweets over here, but I can see how that sort of thing could work in a recipe.

    I love apples too - that's one of the great things about this time of year. Most of the year shops have the standard apples - Royal Gala, Granny Smith and so on - but right now we're getting the home-grown things coming through, apples like Spartan and Discovery and Russet. They have short seasons, which makes each variety a real treat. Do you have any favourite Canadian varieties?

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    1. Hello dear Mim, they can be tricky to find in Canada at times, too, especially in smaller areas and/or when it's not Valentine's Day (at which time they're available in most places). If you'd ever like me to pick some up for you in February and mail them your way to include in a pie like this (or just to try on their own), please don't hesitate to let me know. I'd be more than happy to do so.

      I'm especially partial to Fuji, red delicious, golden delicious, pink lady, jonagold, honey crisp, and ambrosia. They're not all strictly Canadian, but each, to the best of my knowledge, is grown in this country and most can be found - along with several others - in the various apple orchards around these Okangan Valley parts.

      Big hugs & happy start of autumn wishes!
      ♥ Jessica

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