For those of you that follow my blog, recently I had my Annual Fall To-Do List.  Two items that I wanted to accomplish on my list were to make pumpkin latte and to find a really good apple pie recipe.  I accomplished both of these items last night.

Here is a picture of Zhana trying the pumpkin pie latte.  I don’t make a habit of giving my child caffeine, but did let her have this little special treat.  I got this recipe from A Year of Slowcooking. 

Pumpkin Pie Latte Recipe

--2 cups milk

--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
--garnish with whipped cream (optional)
This recipe only makes enough for two people.  I tripled the recipe.
Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.
Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon. This is a keeper for sure and will become a family tradition at my house.

Next, was my task to find the perfect apple pie recipe.  I am pretty sure I did.  This recipe is from allrecipes and is called Apple Pie by Grandma Ople.  Here is the recipe for the most part, but I did change a couple of things. 

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Mix apples with the sauce.   Take a cookie cutter and cut out shapes.  Add these to the top of the pie. 
3. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.
4. Five minutes before cooking is finished, make a mixture using karo syrup and hot water.  Brush this onto the pie.  Sprinkle white sugar onto the pie. 

I hope you are all enjoying the Autumn!