Maple Spice Apple Pie. Like Pumpkin Spice, but Not.

I had a funny yet not at all relevant anecdote to share with this Maple Spice Apple Pie recipe, but then Andrew and I went to Hawaii for a week, and it fell out of my brain.

Before going, Andrew and I were both like, “YEAH! ALL THE FRUITS!”, but then we ended up eating a mini banana cream pie for breakfast while watching people do their morning run on the beach.

Then, the next day, we ate a mini coconut cream pie for breakfast as more people did their morning run on the beach. I’m pretty sure we totally won at vacation.

I wasn’t kidding when I said that I have an obsession with pie. I made this Maple Spice Apple Pie a couple of weeks ago when we had our first hint of fall here in Seattle. Usually, my brain goes straight to pecan pie and Christmas, but I’ve been putting cinnamon in my coffee lately.

Normally I would explain that connection, but even I’m stumped this time around.

Now we are full on into fall, and instead of pecan pie, I started dreaming about apple pie spice. I have strange dreams, I know. I also don’t know why I didn’t think of pumpkin pie spice instead. My brain must be skipping pumpkin spice this year.

The first thought for apple pie spice is obviously to make an apple pie, but I wanted something different. Then I looked in the cabinet and I didn’t have enough sugar. I DID, however, have lots of brown sugar and maple syrup. A pie that combines the flavors of apple pie spice and pecan pie? Sold.

Oh, and now I want an apple spice pecan pie. COMING SOON EVERYONE! SPICED PECAN PIE!

Perhaps that will ease me back into fall. It was a bit of a shock to go from 87 degrees and sunny to flying in at 9:30 pm during the ten-hour break between the two storms of Stormaggedon 2016. Of course, this is Seattle, and Seattle is nestled between two mountain ranges and next to large bodies of water and something about inversion zones and rain shadows, so it turned out to be more like Snoreaggedon 2016. BUT DON’T WORRY GUYS, EVERYONE WAS PREPARED. At least, I assume they were because Ali had to go to like six different grocery stores to find D batteries while she was pup sitting for us in case the power went out.

At least we all finally have keys to the main door of the building so we can, you know, GET INSIDE when the power goes out.

It’s the little things.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAPLE SPICE APPLE PIE

 

• Pie dough
• Six large apples, peeled and chopped into your desired apple pie filling shape (I used three Granny Smith and three Braeburn apples)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons flour

DIRECTIONS FOR MAPLE SPICE APPLE PIE

1. Make your pie dough and do all the related pie dough tasks.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. Combine apples, spices, flour, sugar, and maple syrup in a bowl.
4. Roll out pie dough and put the pie together.
5. Put the pie in the oven and turn the temperature down to 375 degrees.
6. Bake for one hour, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
7. Compose your breakup letter to pumpkin spice EVERYTHING.

xx