Surprised?
I’ll bet you didn’t expect to hear from me this soon.
I’m making up for lost time.
If that’s even possible.
But I’m determined to try, so you can expect to hear a lot more from me this week as I try to fill these pages with some of the most delicious home baking and cooking recipes I’ve made while I was away.
Yes, even though I wasn’t here, I was still heating up the oven and cleaning up the mess. Our plates were pretty and our tummies were full. Too full, sometimes. Good food is hard to resist. Like this blueberry apple cream cheese pie for instance.
It’s a pie I made a while back that I’ve been wanting to share. It’s scrumptious. Apples and blueberries are covered in a luscious thick layer of cream cheese topping and a sprinkle of walnuts. It really is as good as it looks and it takes the humble pie to soaring heights of deliciousness.
Because I love to use fresh, seasonal fruit whenever I bake, Thanksgiving makes the perfect holiday to pass this around the family table, but you really can make and share it any time of the year and you’ll be sure to get some ooohh’s and awwwh’s.
Sprinkled with your favourite nuts, the rich and creamy, cream cheese topping nestles right into the tart apples and sweet blueberries for a beautiful, dramatic and rustic presentation that will impress even your most discerning of guests.
Cream Cheese Apple Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Pillsbury Kitchens’ Family Cookbook
Serves 10
Ingredients
Your favourite single-crust pastry
Apple Filling
6 cups (6 medium) peeled, sliced apples
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Cream Cheese Topping
8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts, but feel free to use your favourite)
Method
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine apples, blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice. Toss lightly.
3. Spoon into your prepared pastry-lined pie pan.
4. Combine all cream cheese topping ingredients except the nuts and beat until smooth.
5. Spoon cream cheese topping over the apples and blueberries. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Note: There is a caramel sauce option for this pie that I didn’t try; but it does sound delicious so I’m adding it, just in case you’d like to give it a try.
For this caramel version, omit the blueberries, using just the apples, and make a caramel sauce that gets poured over the apples just before you add the cream cheese topping.
Caramel Sauce
8-ounces (about 28) of caramels
1/2 cup half-and-half or evaporated milk
In a small saucepan, melt caramels in half-and-half on low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. While warm, drizzle over the apples before adding the cream cheese topping.
This Sweet Wife 
