You know why I really love the holiday season? Parties!
Eating obscene amounts of Hors-d’oeuvres and matching my nail polish to my lipstick is completely normal. Dressing up in things that sparkle and sipping chocolate peppermint beverages make cold nights divine.
Eating cookies for dinner? You bet!
I’ve been to three holiday parties in the past week. Not to mention several breakfasts and lunches with my co-workers. I love the fact that these people know how to eat! Our brunch the other day consisted of Dunkin’ Donuts (I even got the pumpkin one!), cinnamon-peach whole wheat French toast (totes good), apple filled croissants, sausage egg bake, and three different types of breakfast burritos.
It won’t be long until I’m putting sweets in the office kitchen. In the meantime, I’ll continue to eat my co-worker’s peanut M&M’s out of her automatic candy dispenser. I’ve decided I want an automatic cinnamon roll dispenser.
Another thing that lights up my holiday season: Pie. Creamy, sweet, crunchy, dreamy, fruity, nutty, warm, chocolatey! Pie can be all things.
Pie + Booze? Oh my. Let’s devour it!
Have you ever thought about what makes pie so incredible?
Is it the filling? The crust? A crumb topping perhaps? A little splash of whiskey? We all know a festive caramel drizzle always adds jazz.
Personally, a cream pie isn’t right without generous amounts of REAL whip cream. Ice cream always goes with apple, double the scoop if it’s vanilla bean! The only way to eat pumpkin is when it’s warm!
I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with pie. Maybe it’s the combination of the whole shebang in that adorable triangle shape that makes each bite enchanting. Perhaps it’s the unique combinations that can be created.
I just realized I said shebang. That’s weird. Getting older means getting weirder.
Maybe you aren’t pie obsessed like me. In fact, maybe, you’re much more into cake pops from Starbucks, Dunkin’ donuts, and glitzy chocolate truffles with names you can’t pronounce.
It’s also quite possible you sick of me talking about pie all the time. I feel you. I get it! I get your need for frozen Reese’s peanut butter cups and that pastry from the small coffee shop. I adore these things too.
But! You must know nothing compares to making pie from scratch and certainly nothing better than eating it.
Today is the day you get into pie! Especially since it’s got a little bourbon in it.
Bourbon is a classic around the holidays. If we’re going to drink it, we might as well eat it too.
You can make this pie.
You’ll see how easy it is… I’m confident in you!
You’ll see how much you love pie… I promise!
You’ll discover you’re love of fruit and booze combinations… I’m sure!
Come on, get baking! This is a festive pie that’s wonderful for the holidays. I hope you enjoy it.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Deep Dish Bourbon Apple Cherry Pie
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet, firm apples (I used a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith), cored and thinly sliced
- 2 cups of fresh pitted cherries (You can also use frozen tart cherries, just thaw and drain excess liquid)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons of Bourbon
- For the topping:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup pack dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup of butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl combine apples, cherries, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg. Toss together well to combine and let sit for 5 minutes to soak in the flavors. Add flour after 5 minutes and stir to combine.
- Line a 9-inch deep baking pan with pie crust. For the crust, I used Paula Deen's Perfect pie crust. It results in two pie crusts, so if you want you can always make another pie or just half the recipe. If you don't feel like spending time or are in a hurry, I recommend the frozen pie crust from Trader Joe's. It's the best store-bought crust I've had. Pour your apple cherry fruit mixture in. Pour two tablespoons of Bourbon on top of the fruit mixture and sprinkle a pinch of flour on top.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pecans. Add butter and use your fingers to combine until the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Next generously sprinkle the crumb topping all over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking for about 40 minutes or until the pie is bubbling and both the crust and topping are golden brown. If crust or topping begins to brown too quickly, you can cover with aluminum foil.
- When done baking, remove from the oven and let pie cool 20 minutes. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream. Serves 9
hi again Monique, im making this for one of my daughters 24th birthday in may. unfortunately she’s not a cake eater so I thought this would be right up her alley. she loves anything with apples but does not enjoy cherries. would it be possible to replace the 2 cups of cherries with frozen blueberries or raspberries?? would it taste ok? also, would it be possible to use puff pastry? im from Australia and am finding it difficult to find a frozen pie crust. if frozen puff pastry is ok to lign a pie dish with, do I place fruit in as you do the frozen pie crust before baking or does it need to be baked first? sorry for so many questions.
Hi Vanessa – I would recommend trying out my All Butter Pie Crust recipe. If you are looking to make a fruit pie, you could try my summer berry peach pie! Hope she loved these recipes!
Hi, recipe looks good, but instructions say to mix apples, cherries etc. with granulated sugar and brown sugar, but the only brown sugar I saw was in the list of the topping ingredients. I hope it turns out OK.
Sorry about that, we’ll be sure to update the recipe! How did it turn out?
Haha I can't wait to share!
So glad you have to past my desk to get to the kitchen!