Who doesn’t like Dutch Spiced Apple Birthday Pie? My recipe.

As a baker who doesn’t like to make or eat pie crust but is fond of the fillings which go into the shell, and as I will not be preparing Thanksgiving dinner again this year but am making a couple Dutch apple pies for gifts today, I decided to chop some additional apples and make enough filling that I could have it in a deep dish with the same topping.

One is for Sylvia’s actual birthday today, the big 90, or, as she said at the pre-birthday party* last Friday, “70 is the new 90.” Oops, other way around, although I feel 90 some days and have just recently hit 70.

The other is a surprise for another friend who recently had a birthday but was with family in another state on the occasion. (He may share it with his wife if it pleases him to do so, but I hear that apple pie is his favorite and she got the better part of a full-sized cake for her birthday and it’s a smaller pie.)

Did your family baker do this with the little bits of leftover pie dough? A little cream and sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top, and there’s a decoration and/or a snack.

*https://mschefinseattle.com/2018/11/17/2-cakes-for-sylvias-pre-birthday-party/

For those who taste this pie and know that every cook has his/her own recipe for the filling for this most American of pies, even one with a crumbly topping, here is mine for a 9″ pie. I like plenty of cinnamon in my apple pies ‘cuz it’s a spiced pie, not dough filled with plain apples and sugar and negligible cinnamon. Northern Spy and Orange Pippins the best for my pies, but couldn’t find either, so I took the advice of the produce manager and used two other types from the east side of Washington State. Make your own crust for the bottom or, as I do, grab one from the refrigerated section of your grocery store.

Filling: 5 1/2 cups sliced apples, 1 Tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a tiny dash of allspice.

Crumble topping: 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup each granulated and brown sugars, 1/3 cup ROOM temperature butter.