One of my favourite memories growing up was baking with my Mom. I was from a big family and when everyone got together there was always a lot of food with, of course, baking.
Once I become a mom myself, one of my favourite memories was baking with my children. After pre-measuring all the ingredients into bowls I would pull up chairs next to the counter for each child. They would then take turns pouring, well actually dumping, the bowls into the mixer. They would then help to make the cookies and while they baked we would set the table for tea and cookies. I still remember the grins on their faces as they had a bite of their cookies. I hope they enjoyed that time as much as I did.
One thing I had never managed to accomplish was pie dough. It seemed so daunting! Then my darling husband gave me the ultimate cookbook for Christmas: “Bake with Anna Olson”. I LOVE this recipe book! I decided to take the plunge and made her Blue Ribbon Apple Pie recipe. Let me tell you….deeeeeeeeelicious! The crust is tender and flaky. The key for me is the apples: use a mix of at least three different apples. I make sure that one type is Granny Smith.
You can find the recipe here: https://www.annaolson.ca/recipe/details/blue-ribbon-apple-pie
I have tried many of the recipes from that cookbook but my favourite is still the apple pie.
Happy baking! I will be baking today for our vacation today too!