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This could be tastiest, easiest apple pie recipe youll ever try
Special to the News
HOL 00 D Thanks-Apple Pie
Delicious homemade apple pie ready for your holiday table in just over half an hour.

Follow this simple recipe and you’ll have a delicious homemade apple pie ready for your holiday table in just over half an hour.

1 frozen deep-dish piecrust

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 large egg white

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 pounds Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and/or Gala apples, each cored, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 375 F. While crust is thawing at room temperature for 15 minutes, mix pecans, flour and brown sugar in bowl. Work in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

2. Prick bottom and sides of crust with fork. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Immediately brush bottom and sides of hot crust with light coating of egg white. Reset oven to 425 F.

3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Toss in apples and lemon juice. Cover with waxed paper and microwave on high 12 minutes, stirring halfway through. Spoon filling into crust. Sprinkle pecan topping over filling.

4. Bake pie 10 to 12 minutes or until topping is golden. Cool on wire rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Serves 10.

TIP: For a true homemade presentation, use our trick to remove the crust from its foil pan and place in a 9-inch pie plate: Gently fold back foil around edge of frozen crust and pull slightly on the crust to remove from foil. Transfer to pie plate and thaw as directed. With fingertips, press lightly on thawed dough to mold into shape of pie plate.

• Each serving: About 290 calories, 12g total fat (3g saturated), 3g protein, 43g carbohydrate, 7mg cholesterol, 120mg sodium, 3g dietary fiber.

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For a perfect Easter celebration, turn spring cupcakes into edible 'bunnies' and 'chicks'
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A cupcake is just a blank canvas for delicious creativity. I wanted to make cute, Easter-worthy treats that would take these little blank canvases into spring. I thought I would stop with the fluffy Easter bunnies, but I couldnt resist some little yellow chicks as well.

Easy is the key here. There are no complicated directions or hard-to-find ingredients; just simple candies, sprinkles and frosting.



I started with my favorite Vanilla Cupcakes recipe and a double batch of my Fluffy Vanilla Frosting. Both are simple, basic recipes that even the kids can help with. I love a good cake mix though, so feel free to reach for a box of your favorite flavor and bake it up. Tint one batch of the frosting yellow for the chicks. Youll end up with about 2 dozen cupcakes, 12 bunnies and 12 chicks.



Here are the things youll need for the adorable Fluffy Bunny Cupcakes:

Cupcakes

Frosting

Regular marshmallows

Mini marshmallows

Pink jellybeans

Pink sanding sugar

White sprinkles

Black decorator icing

Directions: Mound and smooth three or four tablespoons of frosting on top of a cupcake. I added the marshmallow ears first, then covered the entire thing with white sprinkles. I love the bunny ears made from marshmallows and wanted to use them on these little guys. You simply cut a marshmallow in half diagonally, then dip the cut side in pink sugar. The sugar sticks to the soft insides. I did have to put a little cooking spray on my scissors so the marshmallows didnt stick with each cut.

I cut a mini marshmallow in half for the bunny cheeks, used a jelly bean for the nose and piped black decorator icing on for the eyes. Just use the black icing you find in the baking section at the grocery store, nothing fancy. It usually comes with some basic piping tips, and I just used the smallest, plain tip for the eyes.



Like I mentioned, I couldnt resist a baby chick cupcake too! Especially when I saw the Chiclets gum at the store. The orange Chiclets are perfect for little beaks! If your store doesnt have Chiclets gum, get creative and use what you can find; you could use Airheads candy, or an orange M&M. Heres what youll need for the Fluffy Yellow Chick Cupcakes:

Cupcakes

Frosting

Yellow food coloring

#807 plain piping tip and bag

Yellow sprinkles

Clear sanding sugar

Orange Chiclets gum

Black decorator icing

Directions: I tinted my frosting yellow and piped it on the cupcakes in a simple spiral using the large plain piping tip. Cover the top with yellow sprinkles for that feathery poof and sprinkle the entire thing with sanding sugar. Add your orange beak and black eyes and youre done.



Enjoy these darling little treats for your spring events. Check out TaraTeaspoon.com for more festive deserts and cupcake creations.
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