Blueberry Cheese Pie

Are you familiar with "no-bake cheesecakes"?  The kind where you buy a pre-made graham cracker crust in a tin, a package of cream cheese and a tub of "non-dairy whipped topping", and a can of pie filling?  Well, that's sort of what this pie is.  The pie itself is not baked, but the homemade graham cracker crust will need to be baked for about 10 minutes.  The creamy, rich cheese layer doesn't rely upon the tub of questionable ingredients such as hydrogenated vegetable oil, two forms of fructose corn syrup, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, and "natural and artificial ingredients" (whatever those are); we will just whip some real cream instead.  And the fruit on top is made from a super-quick homemade pie filling, foregoing even more fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes.

While blueberries aren't in season here yet, I still have some frozen from last year's haul. Raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are all good substitutes if you don't have any blueberries.  The sweet, buttery graham cracker crust and honey sweetened, creamy cheese layer makes a delicious foundation for any fruit topping you'd like.

April's blog hop theme is #berrylove, and below the recipe you will find an ongoing list of contributed berry themed recipes all April long, as well as a list of all the talented co-hosts this month!


Blueberry Cheese Pie
Crust:

• 1 1/2 c finely crushed graham crackers (preferably home-made, but if you decide to purchase them, be sure to get a brand which uses only all natural ingredients)
• 5 Tbs butter, melted
• 2 Tbs raw honey

Cheese Layer:

• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 Tbs lemon zest (preferably from an organic lemon)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Blueberry Layer:

• 3 c fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if previously frozen), divided
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 Tbs non-GMO cornstarch, such as Rumford
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and honey. Mix well.

Press the mixture on the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie pan.

Bake 8-12 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, beat the whipping cream with a hand held electric mixer set to high speed until stiff; about 3 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, honey, lemon zest and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture.

Spread the cheese mixture over the graham cracker crust.

Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups blueberries, honey, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and bubbly; about 5-6 minutes total.

Stir in the remaining 1 cup of blueberries.  Cool completely.

Pour the blueberry mixture over the cheese mixture.  Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Top with extra honey sweetened, vanilla spiked whipped cream if desired.

Please join in on the #berrylove by linking up any berry recipe from the month of April 2012.  Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #berrylove event! The twitter hashtag is #berrylove.

April's Berry Love Co-hosts are:

A little bit of everything ~ Roxana GreenGirl ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl | Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29 | Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins | BigFatBaker ~ Erin Meyer ~ @bigfatbaker | Bon à croquer ~ Valerie ~ @valouth | Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess | Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies | Elephant Eats ~ Amy | Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19 | Java Cupcake~ Betsy Eves ~ @JavaCupcake | Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies~ T.R. ~ @TRCrumbley | Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose | Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth  Quirino ~ @Mango_Queen | Rico sin Azúcar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar | Simply Reem ~  Reem ~ @Simplyreem | Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood | Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna Segrave-Daly ~ @tspbasil | That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! ~ Liz ~ @thatskinnychick | The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~ @TAofCRF | The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian | Vegan Yack Attack ~ Jackie S. ~ @veganyackattack | Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @vegetarianmamma | Georgie Cakes ~ Georgie ~ @GeorgieCakes

Apples and Oranges Frozen Yogurt - Citrus Blog Hop

For the most part, I'm not a "gadget gal".  I prefer to work with a few key tools (knives, an assortment of pots and pans, a few utensils, an oven, my hands...).  The reasons I have for this include the fact that I have very little storage space in my kitchen, not a lot of counter space to place a large gadget, and I hate having to disassemble and hand-wash things with many parts.  I do have a food processor, but I don't use it for chopping (in fact, I don't use it much at all, except to make nut butters, bean dips, and a few other things).  I have a blender that I haven't used more than once or twice in fifteen years.  Beyond that, my gadgets include a slow cooker (okay, I have two of those), a $10 hand held electric mixer and a garlic press.  And an electric ice cream maker (because I'm not willing to haul out a bucket of salt to work that cream).  I secretly want a KitchenAid mixer, but I haven't taken the plunge yet; the food processor took me almost five years of justification before I finally bought one, so with my ability to over-think myself out of purchases, I may never actually get one.

My husband, however, is a "gadget guy".  He's the one who bought the griddle, the waffle maker, the (now deceased) microwave, the toaster, the meat thermometer, the injector, the ice cream scoop, etc.  For Christmas, he bought a juicer, and he has been using it faithfully every day (sometimes more than once).  In fact, our son has been using it daily, also.  While I would never have bought one of my own accord, the juice made from it is so fresh, so tasty, and so healthy, I think I'm okay with the purchase.

Here is the simple smoothie that inspired the frozen yogurt:

It includes only two green apples, two oranges, and 1/4 c plain Greek  yogurt.  It reminded me of an Orange Julius (remember those?  I haven't had one since 8th grade, so it likely doesn't taste exactly like one, but it's the first thing I thought of when I tasted it).

We decided to add another 1/4 c of the Greek yogurt (for a total of 1/2 cup), and toss it all into the ice cream maker.  Twenty minutes later, we had the dessert (or, in our case, breakfast) you see in the main photo.  My kids think ice cream for breakfast is pretty cool.  And I kind of do, too.

Strawberries, bananas, mint, or vanilla would all be great additions.  I wanted to share the basic idea with you to show you how tasty something so simple can be.  What you do from there is entirely up to you.

If you don't currently own either a juicer or ice cream maker, you can find the ones that I have in my Amazon store (off to the left of the page, under "other items"). I am not endorsing any of the companies; I'm sure there are better ones, I'm sure there are worse ones, more expensive ones, and cheaper ones, so if you are looking for either of these products, do your homework. I am pretty happy with the quality and cost of the ones we have, though.  The image of the ice cream maker is the newer version of the same one I have, which I've had for about seven or eight years.

Apple and Orange Frozen Yogurt
makes 3 scoops (how many servings that makes is completely up to you)

• 2 Granny Smith apples, core removed
• 2 navel oranges, peeled
• 1/2 c Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla
• 1/2 tsp vanilla, optional (only if you are using plain yogurt)

Put the fruit through the juicer according to manufacturers instructions.

Stir the yogurt (and vanilla, if using) into the juice.  Place the mixture into your ice cream maker, and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. (Mine took 20 minutes)

Eat.


Please join in on the #citruslove fun by linking up any citrus recipe from the month of January 2012.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to stop by the #citruslove event!  The twitter hashtag is #citruslove.


Citruslove Blog Hop Co-Hosts

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl
Astig Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @AstigVegan

Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue

Easily Good Eats

Elephant Eats ~ Amy

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19

Mike's Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives ~ Lisa ~ @parsleynsage

Peaches and Donuts ~ Sylvia ~ @PeachesandDonut

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition

Soni's Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Serena ~ @tspcurry
That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~ @TAofCRF

The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd  

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

You Made That? ~  Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

Cookie Blog Hop - Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread, or little butter cookies, are one of my all time favorite cookies (and not just during the holidays).  They are a snap to make with few ingredients, easy to vary the flavors by using extracts or citrus zests, and generally use very little sugar.

In the spirit of the season, I decided to make orange flavored shortbread and then dip them into some really great dark chocolate (because orange and dark chocolate are soul mates, if you ask me).  It was quite easy to remove the processed sugar from the cookie itself, but for the chocolate, I did decide to go with an already made dark chocolate bar instead of making my own.  I chose a 70% dark chocolate that is fair trade certified, organic, and uses raw sugar.  So, ultimately, I cheated a bit, but at least I did it with integrity.

This recipe calls for the zest (and some of the juice) of an orange.  Since we will be eating the zest, please try to find an organic orange so we don't have to worry about pesticides and other nasty things like that.  Also, grate it lightly so that you only get the orange part, and not the bitter white part.

Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
makes 36 cookies

• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs raw honey
• 1 Tbs pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbs orange juice (squeezed from the zested orange)
• 1 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 oz dark 70% chocolate bar (about 2/3 of a 3.5 oz bar)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric  mixer about 30 seconds or until soft.

Add the whole wheat flour, honey, maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract.

Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally.

Beat in the all purpose flour just until combined.

Divide the dough in half.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour, or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375F.

On a lightly floured surface, working from the middle outward, roll out each dough half into a 6 inch square (dough should be about 1/4" thick).

Slice dough into 2x1 inch pieces (six across, three down, for a total of 18 cookies per square). Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 9-11 minutes, or until done.  Cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

In a small heavy bottom saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate, stirring often.  When the chocolate is melted, transfer to a narrow bowl or cup (I used a custard dish). Dip half of the cookie into the chocolate, and allow the excess to drain back into the bowl.  Place on a sheet of waxed paper to allow the chocolate to set.  Or, you could drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

The drizzled cookies take about 10 minutes for the chocolate to set, the dipped take about 30 minutes.



Please join in on the #cookielove fun by linking up any cookie recipe from the month of December 2011.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to stop by the #cookielove event!  The twitter hashtag is #cookielove.

CookieLove Blog Hop Co-Hosts
Badger Girl Learns to Cook
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves
Big Fat Baker
Bloc de recetas
Bon a croquer
Cafe TerraBlog
Cake Duchess
Creative Cooking Corner
Easily Good Eats
Georgiecakes
Hobby and More
Knitstamatic
Mike's Baking
Mis Pensmientos
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Oh Cake
Queen's Notebook
Savoring Every Bite
Simply Reem
Soni's Food For Thought
Teaspoon of Spice
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
The Art of Cooking Real Food
The Spicy RD
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Vegetarian Tastebuds
Vegan Yack Attack

Maple Apple Cheesecake

I am not a patient cook.  I am the one who will stick my hand in a hot oven to steal a 425 degree, not quite fully cooked, potato wedge with my bare fingers, or taste the simmering soup with only a few blows and end up burning my tongue.  So when it comes to cheesecake, I'm pretty much a lost cause because the eight hour required settling time drives me absolutely mad, and I just can't keep my fingers out of it for that long.

For the most part, I've found that if I make the cake in the evening, it can have all night while I'm asleep to firm unimpeded.  I say "for the most part", because I go to bed thinking about it resting in my fridge, so naturally I dream about it, and of course I wake up at 2am, go to check on it, and have to poke at it to make sure it's firming, and then scoop a little out to make sure it tastes okay.  I'm quite proud because I only stuck my finger in this particular cake once when I should have been asleep, which is some kind of record for me.  I later found out, while we were eating cheesecake for breakfast, that my son did the same shortly after I did; I guess the apple never really does fall far from the tree after all.

I actually developed this recipe for a contest for midwestern desserts, but since I started late and then forgot to submit it until the day after the contest ended, it was never entered.  So, the recipe is now fair game to publish here instead.  While I was working on the recipe, I made three of the cakes.  In the first, I used honey, but as the cake settled, the honey flavor became so pronounced, that it was really the only flavor that could be tasted (and it was kind of gross).  The second was with maple syrup, which was perfect.  The third was the same as the second, just because the second was so good.

Just because I don't like taking any chances with the cheesecake sticking to the pan, after I butter the pan, I cut out a sheet of parchment paper to fit the bottom, and then butter that, too.  An easy way to be sure the parchment fits is to tear off a sheet (larger than the pan), fold it in half, fold it in half again, and then continue to fold from the center point until you have a narrow triangle.  Once you've got the triangle, place the point in the center of the pan and measure to the edge, making a fold or a mark of some sort, and then cut the paper; when you open it, it will fit perfectly into the bottom of your pan.

Fold the parchment in half

Fold in half again

Fold into a triangle at the fold point

Fold a few more times, keeping the point

Place the point in the middle of your pan, measure where the edge is, then cut 

Unfold and line the bottom of your pan

Maple Apple Cheesecake
serves 10-12

Crust:

• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1 c flour
• 1/4 c rolled oats
• 1/4 c pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

• 2 pkgs (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/3 c applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp pure maple extract
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/3 c pure maple syrup, divided
• 3 cups thinly sliced and peeled apples
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 c pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter the inside of a 9" springform pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit, and butter the parchment as well.

In a bowl, cream butter and maple syrup with a hand held electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Gradually add flour, oats, pecans and cinnamon until well blended.  Press the mixture onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the buttered 9" springform pan.

Place on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until set.  Cool on wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  On low speed, beat in maple syrup, sour cream and applesauce, just until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed after each addition just until combined.  Stir in maple and vanilla extracts (batter will be thin).  Pour over cooled crust.

Combine the apples, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup maple syrup.  Carefully arrange the apples over the top of the batter.  

Add the pecans into the apple bowl and mix to coat in any remaining liquid.  Sprinkle the pecans (and any remaining liquid) over the top of the apples.

Bake at 350F for about 1 hour, or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen, but do not uncinch the pan.  Cool at room temperature 1 hour more, then refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Naturally Sweet Apple Crisp

I'm still working through all the apples my parents gave us from before I posted about the Apple Pocket Pies! Applesauce, pie filling, cakes, muffins, apple butter, and this delicious apple crisp.  And in anticipation of the October Unprocessed 2011 Pledge going on over at Andrew Wilder's Eating Rules, I'm dehydrating some apples to use in granola for breakfast "cereal" (which will be one of my family's biggest struggles during the month).

I'm really excited about the pledge; we usually eat very little processed food, but there are a few hurdles we still need to get over; breakfast cereal is a favorite, quick choice for my son, crackers are well loved by everyone, and I'm sure there are a few more that don't scream out to me right now.  Over the course of October, I wonder what else we'll find that we have overlooked.  I'm planning to post our weekly menus along with recipes, and hopefully that will help some of you with ideas about how to proceed.  If you haven't already signed up, head over to Eating Rules and check it out.

I would have no problem with my family eating this apple crisp for breakfast, though. This recipe, originally from a very old country church cookbook in my Stack O' Cookbooks, has been adapted over the years to accommodate my huge disdain for processed sugar (the original recipe had 2 cups!).  It is now sweetened only by apples and maple syrup, which are sweet enough all on their own as far as I'm concerned.  Don't be alarmed by the giant pan of apples and the seemingly small amount of topping - it all works out after the apples cook down in the oven.  For the oil, I usually use butter, but I found when I made a vegan version for some of our friends that I really, really liked the way this crisp tasted with unrefined coconut oil; just the barest hint of coconut, and the topping held together more or less as well as it had with butter.  So feel free to use either butter or unrefined coconut oil (I buy whichever is available; either Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil or  Spectrum Naturals Organic Coconut Oil).  A combination of both butter and coconut oil is nice, too, but be sure they are both melted to liquid form before adding them to this recipe.

Naturally Sweet Apple Crisp
supposed to serve 12, but we've never made it past 8

• 10 c apples, thinly sliced (peeled or not)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbs flour
• 1 c pure maple syrup
• 1 1/4 c rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1 c flour (unbleached white or whole wheat or a combination)
• 1/2 c pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp aluminum free baking powder (such as Rumford)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 c chopped raw nuts (I prefer walnuts, but pecans are delicious, too)
• 1/2 c butter or unrefined coconut oil (or a combination)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place the apples in a 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 Tbs flour.  Pour 1 c maple syrup over all, then toss lightly to mix.

In another bowl, combine oats, flour, 1/2 c maple syrup, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nuts and butter/coconut oil.  Mix well.

Using your hands, sprinkle the mixture over the top of the apples (mixture will be too wet to "sprinkle" with a spoon).

Bake in preheated oven about 45 minutes, or until apples are fork tender and topping begins to brown.

Cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Apple Pocket Pies

It's always funny to me when pie lovers learn what goes into pie crust.  They seem unanimously surprised by "all that butter".  Even my husband, who,while watching me make the dough for these little individual apple pies, vowed never to eat more than one slice at a time for fear his heart would stop working before he was done chewing.  Really, when you think about it, each serving only contains about 2 Tbs butter, so it's not exactly awful. Poor butter has been wrongfully demonized over the years, but because it is a simple, real food, it is infinitely more healthy than its margarine and shortening counterparts; my husband knows this because since we kicked "fake" foods to the curb many years ago, his overall cholesterol count magically dropped from frightening danger zone levels to normal, healthy levels (more on that in future posts).  Still, I guess, it's hard to completely break that psychological connection between "all that butter" and "poor health".

Just to be clear, though, I'm not advocating sitting down and licking a stick of butter for health reasons - that would be crazy.  I'm just saying pie is good.  And it's even better with whipped cream on top.

These mini apple pies are sweetened with maple syrup and thickened with instant tapioca.  Personally, I like the texture of fruit pies thickened with tapioca; the filling is never runny and the fruit seems almost suspended in a thick, juice infused liquid that provides just the right amount of hold for fruity pies.  I don't love flour as a thickener because all too often it has resulted in runny pies or I can taste the starchiness of having too much flour.  It's not going to be very often I suggest a fairly processed product on this blog, but instant-type, granulated tapioca is absolutely fantastic for pie filling.

I have no idea what kind of apples I used.  My parents have three large apple trees that we are fortunate enough to pick from each fall (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and they can't remember what kind they are.  Our own trees are only three years old and not bearing too terribly much fruit yet, and I can't remember what those are, either.  That's fine with me, though.  I understand that different kinds of apples lend different flavors and textures to different preparations, but as far as I'm concerned the free apple is the best apple, and they all taste good to me.  So, if you are an apple connoisseur, choose some nice, equally tart and sweet apples for these little pies.

For the dough, I used a basic pie crust dough:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Put those ingredients into a food processor bowl and pulse to mix.  Add:

• 2 sticks butter (16 Tbs), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

Pulse several times until all the butter is incorporated and the flour is mealy.  Add:

• 6-8 Tbs ice water

Pulse a few more times.  When you can pinch the mixture with your fingers and it holds, it's ready (it will still look mealy in the bowl).  If it doesn't, sprinkle with a little more water (1 Tbs at a time) and pulse a few times until it does. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, bring together to form a ball.  Cut the ball in half.  Pat each ball into a 6x6" square.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 -60 minutes, or until ready to use.

Apple Pocket Pies
makes 8 individual pies

• Dough for a two crust pie (see recipe above)
• 4 c chopped apple, peeled if you like
• 1 tsp lemon juice (to maintain color)
• 1/2 c maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• few grates fresh nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 Tbs instant tapioca granules

• 2 Tbs maple syrup
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, combine chopped apple, lemon juice, 1/2 c maple syrup, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and tapioca.  Stir well and set aside.

Lightly flour a work surface.  Working from the middle outward with a floured rolling pin, roll out each square of dough to form a 12 inch square.

Score into equal quarters with a knife.

Stir the apple mixture to incorporate all the juices pooled on the bottom of the bowl. Place 1/2 c apple pie filling in the middle of each square, leaving no less than 1/2 inch edge.

Fold over to form a triangle.  Gently, but firmly, press down on the edges to seal.  Crimp and trim away any excess.  If you make a hole, use some of the excess dough to mend the tear.

With a sharp knife, make three 1" slits in the top of the pie.  Continue the process with the rest of the dough and pie filling, making sure to stir the apple mixture each time.  

Place 4 pies on each of two ungreased 10x15" baking trays.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbs maple syrup and 1/8 tsp cinnamon.  With a pastry brush, lightly baste the pies.

Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes or until golden.  Remove to a cooling rack.

Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.