They’re extremely versatile and pair very well with other local seasonal ingredients such as squash, sturdy fall greens, and whole grains. Speaking of whole grains, another one of my favorite recipes for fresh apples is hot apple pie with Lisa Crawford’s perfect whole grain pie crust and warming spices – hits the spot on chilly fall nights! In case you missed Lisa’s most recent pie class, here’s her stunning apple pie recipe with a lavender twist. Lisa will be back in the 21 Acres Kitchen teaching her pie magic in December. Check out the website for more details about all the classes we offer!

RECIPE: LAVENDER LACED APPLE PIE

Makes one 9-inch pie

From Easy As Pie culinary class with Lisa Crawford from The Tiny Kitchen
Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 40 to 45 minutes
6-8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tablespoons lavender infused honey
1 teaspoon lavender extract, or to taste
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons arrowroot (thickener)
1 recipe Perfect Pie Dough (see link for recipe)
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, beaten

Preheat oven to 425F
In a bowl, combine the apples with the sugar, honey, lavender extract, salt and arrowroot. Toss well.

Remove a disk of dough from the fridge. Lightly flour the counter and unwrap dough. The dough will be cold and difficult to roll so whack it a few times with your rolling pin. Once it gets a little more workable, roll out the dough and cut into a 12-inch circle. Place dough in pie pan and trim so only about 1/2-inch hangs over the edge of each pie pan. Fill pan with fruit.

Roll out the remaining dough and center over the filling. Trim edges to match bottom crust. Crimp with fingers or fork. Cut vents in top and decorate with scraps of dough if you want to. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Brush top of pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF, lower the heat to 350° F and continue baking for 20-30 minutes. The pie is done when the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Lavender extract: Combine about 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers and 3 tablespoons high quality vodka in a small glass jar, and shake, shake, shake. Keep in a cool, dark place overnight to allow the vodka to soak in the lavender flavor and fragrance. Strain out the lavender flowers before using.
Sprinkle with fresh flowers if still available when serving.

Lavender-infused honey: Add 3 tablespoons food-grade lavender to a clean jar. Pour 1 cup of mild honey over top. Seal jar and set aside. Shake / flip the jar every couple days to ensure the lavender is submerged under the honey (after a day or so they tend to float to the top). Taste after 5 days and once the desired flavor is achieved (5-7 days), strain and store. Infused Honey recipe from naturalgirlmoderngirl.com