Bakers of all skill levels are invited to enter the 18^th Annual APC/Crisco^® National Pie Championships^® to be held April 27-29, 2012 in Orlando. Entry forms will be posted soon at www.piecouncil.org. Those who prefer to appreciate the nuances of pie without all the work won’t want to miss the APC Great American Pie Festival sponsored by Crisco^®, featuring the Never Ending Pie Buffet, held April 28-29, 2012 in nearby Celebration, Fla.

Here is a winning recipe from last year, courtesy of The American Pie Council.

Laura’s Sticky Toffee Pudding Apple Pie
Linda Hundt, DeWitt, Mich.
Crisco^® Innovation Best of Show
Professional
2011 American Pie Council Crisco^® National Pie Championships

Pie Crust
1 ½ cups of flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup cold butter cut in small pieces
½ cup of refrigerated Crisco® shortening

Mix all above ingredients in Kitchenaid style mixer on medium speed swiftly until crust appears “pea-like.” Carefully sprinkle water in crust mix until it starts to become moistened and gathers together. Pat into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least one half hour. Roll out on to floured surface and make and crimp crust. Freeze until ready to use.

Apple Filling
Five medium to large Michigan Cortland, Ida Red Apples, peeled, thinly sliced, diced
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
Cook above ingredients in large pan on medium heat until cooked halfway. Stir in 3/4 cup homemade caramel until melted.

Homemade caramel – recipe below
Praline pecans – recipe below

Sticky Toffee Pudding Filling
½ cup praline pecans
1 stick of butter softened
½ cup brown sugar
2 T heavy cream
1 T lemon juice
1 egg – beaten
½ cup self-rising flour
Mix above ingredients just until blended.

Crumb topping
¾ cup of flour
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter softened

Mix all together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until fine and crumbly.

Directions:
Spread sticky toffee pudding mixture on bottom of crust. Put apple mixture over pudding mixture. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for one hour or until knife easily slides into center of pie with no resistance. If pie becomes too brown before done, turn down oven to 350 degrees to finish baking and cover with foil completely.

Top with a generous amount of homemade caramel and praline pecans.

Homemade Caramel
1- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ stick butter
1 Tablespoon real vanilla extract

In heavy 3 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients, but vanilla. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, covering all parts of bottom of pan with wire whisk to avoid scorching. Stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, constantly stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring until caramel reaches 244F on a candy thermometer or firm-ball stage. Pour in glass container. Cool to use.

Praline Pecans
1 cup of chopped pecans
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
Melt butter in small pan on medium –low heat until melted. Add pecans and sugar and stir ingredients until you start smelling the nuts roasting. Take off heat and cool. Crumble.

***

The American Pie Council® (APC), the only organization committed to maintaining America’s pie heritage, offers pie lovers plenty of reasons and ways to celebrate. The APC offers recipes on its website www.piecouncil.org and many APC members offer activities, specials and more in celebration of the special day. The APC is comprised of amateur, professional and commercial pie manufacturer members. Any amateur pie maker or pie lover can join for just $40 for a lifetime membership.

The Great American Pie Festival

Chocolate Raisin Walnut Pie. photo courtesy of the American Pie Council

The Prestigious Baking Competition and Family Fun, the APC Great American Pie Festival, Sponsored by Crisco®, is back!

When and Where?

On April 9 and 10, 2011, pie lovers, tasters and bakers will gather in Celebration, Florida, for two very sweet days! Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, April 9; noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 10. The festival will be held at Lakeside Park at 631 Sycamore St. in downtown Celebration, Florida 34747. Admission to the festival is free.

9 Years of Celebration!

Now in its 9th year, this pie extravaganza dishes up luscious layers of fun for the young and the young at heart. Whether looking to enjoy some of the most delectable desserts in America or simply partake in one of the many entertainment and baking demonstrations staged along Main Street in one of America’s most charming small towns, attendees are sure to enjoy pure pie perfection.

From top crust to two crust, juicy to sweet, chocolate to custard all matter of flavors and fillings will flow forth for two full days in April to the delight of an anticipated 28,000 pie lovers from around the world.

Festival Events

All festival events will be held both days. Whether bonafide pie lovers or casual nibblers looking for an afternoon of fun, Celebration residents and visitors are invited to stroll through the free-admission festival and enjoy two days of family fun, reminiscent of days gone by. Attendees may opt to dig in and compete or simply sit back and enjoy the show. The events include:

• The Crisco® Kids Creation Station will give aspiring young bakers an opportunity to create their own pies or enjoy some fun with pie decorating, pie-scaping, Piecasso tin art at the Piecasso stage and many more activities!
• The Pietopia Demonstration Stage sponsored by Village Inn and Bakers Square Restaurants will feature entertainment and baking demonstrations with chefs from across the country.
• Of course, the Great American Pie Festival would not be complete without a pie eating contest, sponsored by Private Selection.

The Never Ending Pie Buffet

As the festival favorite for the past nine years, the Never Ending Pie Buffet will once again feature an all you can eat smorgasbord of 83,000 award-winning pie slices – up from 70,000 in 2009 — ice cream, toppings and beverages from local, regional and national commercial bakeries, restaurants and markets, including Bakers Square Restaurants and Pies, Bonert’s Slice of Pie, California Raisin Marketing Board, J. Horner’s Desserts, Kroger’s Private Selection, Publix Super Markets, Inc., Rocky Mountain Pies, Smucker’s Toppings, The Folger Coffee Company, Village Inn, Wick’s Pies and Winn-Dixie. This is the only paid event at the festival.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors over 65 and children under 5 to enjoy all they care of eat and drink.

The APC/Crisco National Pie Championships

Lemon Swirl Cream Cheese Pie. photo courtesy of APC

When and Where?

The 17^th Annual American Pie Council^® (APC)/ Crisco^® 2011 National Pie Championships® returns to Orlando April 8-10, 2011 expecting a record number of entries across all categories, to top last year’s record entries: 417 commercial, 170 professional, 321 amateur and seven junior — totaling an astounding 907 pies!

New Categories

New this year are three categories created to reflect the sign of the times.

• A “Gluten-free” category requiring a pie that is gluten-free in all aspects including crust, filling and toppings:;
• “Crisco Innovation” category sponsored by Crisco in honor of the brand’s 100^th Anniversary this year.  The “Innovation” pie requires a blend of classic and contemporary innovative pie making technique and pie flavor selections.
• Finally, a “Royal Wedding” pie suitable for a soon-to-be-married Prince William and Kate Middleton rounds out the third new category.   The pie’s the limit with all three of the new categories as well as familiar favorites.

It will take a record number of judges — 200 prequalified volunteer pie aficionados — to eat through almost 1,000 pieces to find the crème de la crème of North American pie bakers. It comes as no surprise that the largest number of entries for a single flavor goes to America’s collective favorite — apple pie — with 39 entries in the amateur category.

Entry forms are available online for junior, amateur, professional and commercial divisions.  Entry costs are free for juniors and $15 for amateurs.  APC members receive discounts on entries.

Hotel Discounts

The host hotel Caribe Royale is offering a special $129 per night room rate for those attending or participating in the Great American Pie Festival or National Pie Championships.  To book this special rate, you must tell the hotel you are with the event.  Call 800-823-8300 to book a room.

More Info

For more information, visit the Front Porch Celebration Community or the American Pie Council®, the only organization committed to maintaining America’s pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America’s love affair with pie. The APC offers personal, professional and commercial memberships.

Crisco® is a registered trademark of The J. M. Smucker Company.

For a dessert that has had so many transformations, apple pie is a classic dish perfected by grandmothers and culinary experts alike. Today’s apple pie is sweet and flaky and rich. The ingredient list can be short or extensive with a lattice crust or closed top. This recipe is very simple and resembles the original pie with very basic ingredients combined to meld simple flavors into a big taste. Serve warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

6 – 7 small apples
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
prepared double pie crust

Directions

1. Peel, cored and thinly slice apples.

2. In pie dish, lay bottom layer of prepared pie crust down.

3. Mix sugar and cinnamon in bowl, set aside.

4. Layer apples in pie dish. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon sugar mixture.

5. Top final layer with small pieces of butter. Cover pie with the second crust.

6. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 35 more minutes or until the pie is golden and bubbly.

Enjoy!

photo courtesy of bitzcelt

The festival will be held at Lakeside Park at 631 Sycamore St. in downtown Celebration. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, April 24; noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 25. Admission to the festival is free, with tickets for the Never-Ending Pie Buffet priced at ($10 adults, $5 ages 65 and up, and $5 ages 6-12.)

A national pastime will attract national attention as contestants from across North America sift through their most treasured recipes in hope of finding one that leads to an award-winning pie. Perhaps it’s a family favorite that’s won praise for generations or a new creation that’s pleased a friend, but dedicated pie makers — from contestants with decades of blue ribbons to a new generation who are warmed up and ready to enter the competition — will be rolling out fresh dough and carefully measuring ingredients as they prepare for the three-day APC/ Crisco® 2010 National Pie Championships® April 23-25.

The competition heats up at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate as Commercial, Professional, Amateur and Junior Chef pie makers test their tasty creations in a variety of categories.   Last year, more than 170 judges graded pies created by 138 bakers who entered 465 commercial, 130 professional and 266 amateur pies.   Emile Henry USA, makers of the finest quality ceramic bake ware and gourmet cooking products, has returned for 2010 as the “Official Pie Dish” of the National Pie Championships.   Each junior, amateur and professional competitor receives an Emile Henry ceramic pie dish, valued at $45 each.   For 2010, Best of Show winners in the amateur and professional divisions will each win $5,000, a new Sears Kenmore range and a Crisco® gift basket, while the top winner in the Junior Chef division receive a $2000 Crisco college scholarship and a Crisco® gift basket.  First place ribbons and bragging rights will be awarded to Commercial Division winners.

To enter, APC members pay $15 per pie entry for amateurs and $20 per pie entry for professionals.  Non-members pay $35 per pie entry for either category.  Junior entries are free.

This year’s contestants will whip, puree and roll their way to victory in a wide range of categories: Amateurs are judged in 15 categories including Apple, Citrus, Crisco® Classic Cherry, Crisco® Classic Chocolate, Cream, Cream Cheese, Custard, Fruit/Berry, Nut, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, Open, Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board, Splenda, and Sweet Potato. First place winners in each category receive $200 cash and a Crisco® gift basket, second place winners receive $150 cash and third place winners take home $100 cash.

Professional bakers enter pies in nine categories: Apple, Citrus, Crisco® Classic Chocolate, Crisco® Classic Cherry, Fruit/Berry, Cream, Nut and Open and new for the 2010 competition — Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board.  First place winners in each category receive $200 cash and a Crisco gift basket.

Junior Chefs who are in high school and between the ages 14 to 17 can test their pie-making skills with entries in Apple, Cream, Fruit/Berry or Open categories.  Three first place winners will receive a $100 gift certificate to Emile Henry USA, a $100 gift certificate to Cuisipro USA, a source for popular professional chef tools, as well as a Crisco® gift basket.

Commercial bakers competed in categories including Apple, Blueberry, Fruit/Berry, Open Cream, Citrus, Open, Nut and Chocolate, and Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board.

The APC is now accepting registrations for the upcoming championships. Participants are encouraged to join the American Pie Council prior to registration in order to receive discounted entry fees.

Ten minutes from Celebration, the host hotel Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate is offering a special $129 per night room rate for those attending or participating in the pie championship or pie festival. To book the American Pie Council special rate, call 800-843-6664 and identify yourself as associated with the APC.  For more information, visit the Front Porch Celebration Community Web Site at www.celebration.fl.us; or the American Pie Council®, www.piecouncil.org

Crisco®  is a registered trademark of The J. M. Smucker Company.  For more information, visit www.crisco.com.

The American Pie Council® is the only organization committed to maintaining America’s pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America’s love affair with pie. The APC offers personal, professional and commercial memberships. For more information, please visit www.piecouncil.org.

photo courtesy of ralph and jenny

This year, the APC is encouraging pie lovers to show their “pie-triotism” by sharing a pie with a hero in their life. Whether it’s baking or buying a pie for a member of the military or their family, the local fireman, teacher or your parent, the gift of pie is a sincere gesture of kindness. APC members are also offering coupons on to make buying or making a pie more affordable, as well as offering their own special pie day activities. For details, go to www.piecouncil.org or friend them on Facebook.

The act of sharing America’s quintessential dessert brings with it an extraordinary heritage. In many homes family recipes go back for decades and, quite often, special kitchen utensils have been passed down over generations. As with family reunions and special get-togethers, what takes place in the kitchen also brings families together as children and parents and husbands and wives experience the pleasure of working together and creating something special for someone else.

This year’s championships are April 23-25 at the Omni Championsgate Hotel in Celebration, Fla. Commercial, Professional, Amateur and Junior Chef pie makers will compete throughout the weekend. The Great American Pie Festival sponsored by Crisco® is held in conjunction with the championships, April 24 and 25 at Lakeside Park in Celebration and is free and open to the public.