White Chocolate Blackberry Cheesecake

Happy Thanksgiving! We are going to my in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner so I have narrowly escaped making Thanksgiving for another year. In fact, all we are doing is bringing a cheese ball and some crackers so I don't have to cook today AT ALL. That is definitely something I am thankful for.

This is a cheesecake that I made a while ago when we found some blackberries on a great sale. It was absolutely divine - one of the best cheesecakes that I have ever had.

Crust:

1 1/2 cup graham crackers, crumbled

1/3 cup margarine, melted

1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

4 8 oz packages cream cheese

1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs

4 oz white chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 475°. Place a large pan filled with about 1/2" water into the oven while it preheats. In a small bowl, combine blackberry preserves and water. Heat in a microwave for about a minute and stir until smooth. Set aside. Make crust by combining graham crackers, margarine, and sugar. Press crust into the bottom and about halfway up the sides of a 10" spring form pan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Use an electric mixer to whip the cream cheese. Then add sugar, sour cream, and vanilla and continue mixing. Beat in eggs one at a time. Don't over-mix.

Sprinkle white chocolate over the crust, then spoon half of the cheesecake filling over the chocolate. Drizzle half of the blackberry preserves over the cheesecake and swirl with a knife. Pour remaining cheesecake filling and drizzle remaining preserves over top. Swirl enough so that there is a pretty design. 

Place cheesecake in oven and bake for 12 minutes at 475° then turn oven down to 350° and bake for another 50-60 minutes. Then, turn oven off and let the cheesecake cool for at least an hour in the oven. This helps to prevent cracking. Chill cake for at least 4 hours before serving. Top with powdered sugar, blackberries, whipped cream, and/or white chocolate shavings.

Four Layer Pistachio Dessert

I have been promising some of my friends that I would post this dessert for over a month now, so here it is (finally!). This is one of my favorite non-chocolate desserts of all time. I usually make it during the summer, although I have read online that some people make it during Christmas. 

Crust:

                1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

                1 cup flour

                1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

                Mix and pat in bottom of 8 x 11 inch pan.  Bake at 350^o for 10-12 minutes.  Cool.

Combine:

                1 cup cool whip

                8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

                1 cup powdered sugar

                Whip and spread on cooled crust.

Mix:

                1 large (6 oz)  package pastachio instant pudding with 3 cups of milk. Spread over cream mixture.  Chill. Serve topped with a thin layer of whipped cream and sprinkle with 1/4 cup nuts.

Chocolate Pretzel Snaps

The first time I ever had these was when my mom made them for a baby shower. They are SO delicious and completely addictive. For the baby shower, she used the pastel colored spring M&Ms. Afterwards I came home and made a batch for myself. After they cooled down, I put them in a bowl and set them on the counter. I thought they would be a nice little snack for the next few days. Unfortunately, we polished them off in less than a day!

Pretzel Snaps

1 bag Hershey's chocolate kisses

1 bag plain M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350°. Place pretzels on a cookie sheet. Place one chocolate kiss on each pretzel. Heat in oven for 2-3 minutes or until kisses are melted. Top each kiss with an M&M. Cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Frosting

Usually when I make chocolate frosting, I use unsweetened cocoa powder. Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option this time because I used the rest of it in the chocolate cake that I made. But I did just happen to have an unsweetened chocolate baking bar, which worked really well. As far as the cream cheese, I don't think it would normally be necessary, but I just really wanted to add it. The frosting turned out great.

2 oz Unsweetened chocolate baking bar
4 Tbsp butter
1 lb (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 oz cream cheese (optional)

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Combine powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cream cheese. Stir in chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.

Chocolate Cake

I haven't made many homemade cakes in my life, but this afternoon, I thought it would be fun to try out a chocolate cake. After doing a little bit of internet research, I found a recipe that I thought looked pretty good. Actually, it turned out to be pretty much the best chocolate cake I have ever had! Maybe I will never make a box cake again. Seriously, I had no idea that a homemade cake could taste that good. If you are looking for an awesome cake to make, this is definitely one that is worth trying out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Blend the following ingredients together:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1-1/2 Teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 Teaspoons baking powder

3/4 Teaspoon salt

Stir in:

1/2 cup melted salted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

3 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat on medium speed until well incorporated then turn mixer to slowest speed and add:

1 cup boiling water

Pour into buttered and floured 9 x 13 baking pan or two 8" circle pans.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting. 

Banana Nut Bread

Banana bread is never one of those things that I plan to make in advance. I usually just find myself obligated to make it in order to avoid letting over-ripe bananas go to waste. That was the case this morning, when I finally concluded that there was no way I would eat the last bananas when they had all of those brown spots. Rather than using the banana bread recipe that I usually do, I chose a new one. I was excited that it called for sour cream because I have had some sitting in my refrigerator ever since I made tacos a few weeks ago.

This is pretty much my new favorite banana bread recipe. It is wonderfully soft and stays moist for days - I stored one loaf in plastic wrap and the other in a ziplock bag and they both retained their moisture.

Makes 1 9x13" pan or 2 bread pans.

1 cup mashed bananas (approximately 2-3 bananas)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare pans with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine bananas and sour cream and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar then beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla and banana mixture, then add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Lemon Cookies

I was recently visiting a friend for an afternoon and she suggested that we try a new cookie recipe. She had found an amazing recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe and had all of the ingredients on hand. I had never made lemon cookies before, but was excited to try something new; and I have to say that I am IN LOVE with these cookies. I brought some home to my husband, and he felt the same way. After we ate them all in a single day, he asked me to make more and I happily obliged. Interestingly, I have since found these same cookies on a few other websites, so I guess they are kind of a fad right now. 

Recipe Yield: about 2 dozen cookies (depending on how big you make them)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or cooking spray. (These cookies stick to the pan.) 

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice and mix well. Then stir in salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Roll balls of dough in powdered sugar before placing on baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove them from the oven before they begin to brown on the edges.

Lemon Cake

I read online that lemons are currently in season, so I thought I would make a lemon cake. I haven't really ever made (or eaten) very many lemon desserts but I know that my husband loves them so I was really excited to make him a special dessert. I did a search and landed on this recipe from a blog that I have never heard of or visited before. It looks like she is really big on making types of cakes, though. The blog is called Life is Great. I also tried her meringue frosting. My husband "toasted" the frosting with a butane lighter. We had to get a little creative with the frosting. It was fun, and looked pretty cool, but it was also very sweet. That is why I am not going to include the "seven minute frosting" recipe. If you want it, you are welcome to visit her blog. We actually ended up scraping it off and making a new lemon pudding frosting that wasn't "gourmet," but tasted infinitely better. 

Cake:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

4 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 lemon (approx. 2 tsp)

juice of 2 lemons

Lemon Curd Filling:

8 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

zest and juice of 3 lemons

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each. Stir in baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Then stir in flour and milk, alternating between each. Finally, stir in lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour in round cake pans (2 nine inch pans or 3 eight inch pans) that have been greased with cooking spray or shortening and floured, or that have been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Cool cake until it is room temperature.

While cake is cooling, prepare lemon curd by combining all ingredients in a double broiler over boiling water. Stir consistently until mixture begins to thicken, then remove from heat. Cover with plastic and allow to cool nearly to room temperature before spreading in between layers of cake. Frost cake with lemon frosting. Store in the refrigerator for up to about 4 days.

Lemon Frosting:

1 8 oz. pkg. whipped cream

1 3.4 oz pkg. instant lemon pudding mix

1/2 cup milk

Whisk ingredients together. Refrigerate until the cake is cool and ready to frost.

Glazed Doughnuts

Growing up, we often made doughnuts together as a family. My dad was usually the one who seemed to be in charge of the project, although I think my mom was probably the one who made the dough. A few weeks ago I brought up the idea of making doughnuts and my husband seemed shocked that you could even make them at home. He had never done it before! So this was a really fun activity for us. It is a really good recipe too - these are the light and fluffy, melt in your mouth kind of doughnuts and I really liked the vanilla flavored glaze as well. I am excited to have friends over to make these again in the future. With a large doughnut cutter, we made 6 doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Doughnuts:

1 envelope active dry yeast

1/8 cup warm water

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 Tbsp shortening

2 1/2 cups flour

canola oil for frying

Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 Tbsp hot water (or as needed)

In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast and let stand about 5 minutes or until yeast has activated. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until double in size. 

Gently roll out dough to 1/2-1" thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter and place on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise again until double in size.

Prepare glaze by melting butter and stirring in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in hot water, stirring, until the glaze is thin but not watery.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or a large pan until it is 350° and fry doughnuts on each side until they are golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts in glaze while they are still hot and return to wire rack. 

Chocolate Caramel Chews

I was searching the internet, looking for something to make for dinner, when I accidentally stumbled upon these amazing little treats. I knew I had to make them the moment that I saw them. They are practically like homemade candy bars. Actually, my husband thinks I should actually try to mass produce them and sell them, but instead I am just going to post them on my blog to share. Unfortunately I didn't write down the name of the blog where I originally found them, but just know that I didn't invent them myself.

36 caramels, unwrapped

3 Tbsp evaporated milk

1 cup crushed corn flakes

1 cup Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

6-8 oz chocolate, melted (I just used milk chocolate chips)

Melt the caramels and cream over the stove, stirring frequently until smooth. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Stir caramel into dry ingredients. Shape into 1" balls and set onto waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in 20 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each time. Coat chews completely in chocolate and allow chocolate to cool and harden before serving.

Poppyseed Cake

I was the happy recipient of this delicious cake recipe about four years ago, just after I moved away from my wonderful hometown in Colorado for the last time. This cake is super easy to make; it has a cake mix as the base. Prep time is seriously about 5 minutes, but since I add things other than the exact ingredients on the box it seems legit - like it is homemade or something. But really, I think that this is the best poppyseed cake I have ever had. My husband said he liked it just as much as he liked the carrot cake that he made for my birthday.

1 package yellow cake mix

1 small package vanilla pudding

1 cup water

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

2 Tbsp poppyseeds

2 Tbsp almond extract

Prepare bundt pan by spraying a light layer of cooking spray and sprinkling powdered sugar over it. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Beat for three minutes. Then pour cake into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Immediately top with a thick glaze made from water and powdered sugar.

Carrot Cake

A few days before my birthday, my husband asked what kind of cake I wanted. He said he was thinking about buying the same kind of carrot cake that we had as the top layer of our wedding cake. That cake was very delicious, but I had a better idea. I told him I wanted him to make me a cake... from scratch. None of this box cake business. I made a pretty big deal about it and told all of our friends that he was going to bake my birthday cake (which might be why some of the mysteriously couldn't make it to the birthday party). So just to let all of you know, MY HUSBAND CAN BAKE. We got the recipe from my aunt, who had made it for us for Christmas and he stayed up until midnight the night before my birthday preparing and baking. I didn't even help at all. Then he made a cream cheese frosting and a cream cheese filling to go inside. It was absolutely incredible.

2 cups sugar

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 extra-large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Bake in two 8 or 9" spring form pans (or one layer at a time) for 50-60 minutes each. When they are completely cool, add the filling using this recipe and frost with this recipe.

Strawberry 3 Layer Cake

My husband kindly volunteered me to make a dessert for a barbecue this past weekend so, of course I took the opportunity to make something that I had never made before. My mom makes this great cake with a fluffy  cream cheese frosting and strawberry topping that I thought would be perfect for the occasion so I called and got the recipe. It was a big hit. And it turns out it is one of my husband's new favorite desserts. Usually when my mom made it, she had to make two because it only uses half of a prepared cake mix for each pan. I just split the ingredients and the cake mix in half (using 2 eggs rather than 1 1/2) and it was just great.

1/2 cake mix, prepared as directed on package

1 8 oz tub whipped cream
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar

1 pkg strawberry Danish Dessert Junket, prepared as directed on package
1-2 lb. strawberries

Bake half of the cake mix in a 9x13" pan, perhaps reducing bake time slightly. Once the cake has cooled, whip cream cheese, whipped cream, and powdered sugar together and spread over cake. Top with strawberry mixture and chill (approximately 3 hours) before serving.

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

A few months ago I bought a huge jar of Nutella for crepes and because my husband told me that he loved it. He must have forgotten that it was in the cupboard, though, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't eaten it once. Since we were moving soon, I was looking for a way to use up some things that had been sitting for a while. I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies on barbarabakes.com so I decided to try it out. It was a big hit. My husband and siblings said it was even better than the peanut butter kiss cookies that we make every year around Christmas. I made the recipe almost exactly as she posted it.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter 
Sugar
Nutella

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the peanut butter and continue beating on low speed. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat until just blended. 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place each ball in a cup of a greased mini muffin tin. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until edges are browned and crackled, the centers will not be completely set. Remove the cookies from the oven and use the end of a thick-handled wooden spoon make a small, deep well in the center of each cookie and fill with your Nutella. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Chewy Snacks

These were my very favorite dessert growing up. I made them last month and they are still amazing. One interesting thing to note is that they are actually much better if you make them an entire day before eating them. That way the graham cracker crust has time to soften.

Whole graham crackers
1 c. butter or margarine
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c. sweetened coconut
1 c. chopped walnuts (or other nuts if desired)
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Layer whole graham crackers on bottom of 9x13" pan. Melt butter or margarine and add sugar, milk, and slightly beaten egg. Cook until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Spread on graham crackers and put a layer of whole graham crackers on top.

Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

I took a big risk this past weekend and made a dessert that I have never heard of or sampled to bring to another couple's house to go with dinner. I thought that it would just be the four of us, but right around dessert time, two other people showed up. It made me pretty nervous to think that 5 people, two of which I had never met, were going to try this dessert with me for the first time. What if it didn't taste good? I was afraid they would all think that I was a bad cook. Thankfully, my fears were not realized and theses Fudgy Oatmeal Bars tasted delicious. They were exactly the combination of flavors I was searching for when I decided to find a new recipe (which, by the way, came from a cookbook compiled by my mother). Thank you Rallet Abram for contributing this lovely recipe to the Ponderosa Ward Cookbook of 2001.

Oatmeal layer:
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups regular or quick oats


Caramel layer:
20 Kraft or other brand soft caramels
1 tsp water

Chocolate layer:
2 Tbsp butter
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13x2" pan. In a large bowl combine brown sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and eggs. Stir in flour, soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in oats. Reserve 1/3 oat mixture and press remaining oats into pain.

Melt caramels over low heat with water. Spread over oat mixture

Over low heat, combine 2 Tbsp butter, condensed milk, and chocolate chips, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp salt. Spread or drizzle over caramel.

Drop remaining oat mixture by spoonfuls over top. Should not completely cover caramel and chocolate mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before cutting into approx 2x2" squares.

Traditional Cinnamon Rolls

The cinnamon rolls I used pizza dough for were great, but a few days ago I decided to make some "real" cinnamon rolls. I chose a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found that the main differences between my pizza dough/roll recipe and cinnamon roll recipe are that the cinnamon roll dough is a little sweeter and that I let them rise for a lot longer. These turned out very light and fluffy and the dough was also very simple.

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Filling:
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast; set aside. Heat milk and butter in the microwave until butter almost melts, stir in the 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and salt. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Mix well (3-4 minutes). Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough on a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease pan(s).

Roll each portion of the dough into a 12x8" rectangle. Brush the melted 3 Tbsp butter over dough. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon: sprinkle over dough. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side. Seal seam. Slice each roll into 12 equal pieces. Place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double (about 30 minutes).

Bake in a 375º oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; remove from pans. Drizzle with icing (powdered sugar icing or cream cheese icing).

Dessert Crepes

Crepes are one of those foods that are incredibly easy to make, but are still considered to be somewhat of a delicacy. They are also incredibly diverse, in that they can be eaten with nearly any combination of toppings. They can be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a dessert. Here is a great recipe for dessert crepes.

2 eggs
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Place ingredients in blender in the order listed. Blend on high speed 20-30 seconds. Scrape sides of the container and blend a few more seconds. Preheat pan to a medium temperature. Crepe pan is at the correct temperature when the batter sizzles slightly when poured into the pan, and a crape will cook on one side in approximately 1 minute.

The crepe is ready to turn when it begins to set and crisp around the edges. Loosen around the edge with a spatula so you have a starting place to pick up the crepe with your fingers, then simply flip it over. Should it start to tear when picked up, it may not be cooked enough to turn. Cook a few seconds longer and try again.
This recipe makes 16-20 5" crepes.

We filled these crepes with jam, berries, pomegranate seeds, and whipped cream and topped them with berry syrup and powdered sugar. On other ones we used Nutella, peanut butter and bananas. We also used canned peaches, honeydew melon, and strawberries. The possibilities are endless!

Caramel Brownies

These brownies are a long standing family favorite. I don't know where the recipe came from originally; all I know is that my mom has made them for as long as I can remember. They are very simple to make and they taste amazing.

1 box German Chocolate cake
3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 can evaporated milk
1 14 oz. pkg. caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
12 oz. chocolate chips

Mix cake mix, butter, and milk together and pat half in bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes. Next, melt caramels and milk in a sauce pan and pour caramel mixture over baked mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel mixture. pat second half of cake mixture on top and bake for another 15 minutes. Do not over bake.

Caramel Apple Pie

Over the past couple of weeks I have been working EXCESSIVELY and haven't been home enough to spend a lot of time cooking or blogging. But this apple pie is one that I definitely couldn't leave out of my blog. It became my husband's very favorite pie the first time he tried it. This pie has, in fact, caused us to consider having a birthday pie tradition rather than birthday cake. If you try making anything from my blog this might be the thing to try because it is so good.

Ingredients:
Pastry for a 2 crust pie
2 Tbsp butter

Filling:
6-8 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Caramel topping:

1/4 C butter
2 Tbsp evaporated milk
1/2 C brown sugar

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices and then stir into apples. Place in a 10 inch pie plate lined with an unbaked pie pastry crust. Dot with 2 Tbsp butter. Top with pie crust pastry and seal edges. Bake at 400° for 40-45 min.

Combine 1/4 C butter, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil - stirring constantly. Bring to soft ball stage, boiling about 2 min. Pour over hot pie. Place pie on a baking sheet or over tin foil (to catch overflowing sauce) and return to oven for an additional 3-4 minutes or until caramel bubbles. Best when served warm.