TWD—Citrus Pecan Sunshine Muffins and Dutch Apple Pie for Pi Day

This week’s recipe for Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins was chosen by Lauryn of Bella Baker.  Right off, I didn’t use currants.  I used pecans instead.  Right now, I’m out of town—visiting friends in Kansas and I forgot to bring the recipe noting the other changes I made.  I know for sure that I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour, but that is all I can remember.  The muffins are okay.   I always love mixing zest into sugar with my fingers.

I really liked the pecan crunch in these.  I sprinkled them with turbinado sugar before baking them and that made for a nice sweet crunch on top.

Monday (3-14) was International Pi Day and while it doesn’t really mean anything to me by way of math, it was definitely an excuse to make a pie! ;)  I’m staying with my friend, Mindy, here in Kansas and for fun asked her what her favorite kind of pie is and she said it was Dutch apple pie.  So I googled it and found one that Amy at Baking and Mistaking just posted for Pi Day that look really good.

Amy used a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.  I followed Amy’s recipe, which is different in that the apples are cooked on the stove and the crust is prebaked.  After cooking the apples, they had a good cup or more of liquid that I really wasn’t sure was supposed to go in the pie shell.  So I scooped the apples out and put them in the pie shell, but left out the liquid.  I really didn’t want a soggy crust.  After putting the huge mound of crumble topping over the apples, I was a little worried the crumble wouldn’t be moist enough……..it wasn’t. 

But the pie was still good!  I like that the apples are well cooked.  I don’t like apple pie when some of the apples are still just a tad too crunchy.

Too many crumbs.  A little vanilla ice cream helped with that.