guy@slu70.UUCP (02/18/86)
I'm lazy, usually in a hurry and apparently congenitally incapable of making good pie crusts. As a consequence I usually use one of two alternatives to pie when I have a craving for baked apple goodies. These are both legitimate desserts in their own right but are also quicker and easier. The filling is the same, the difference is the crust. One is apple crisp. It basically consists of an apple filling in a greased baking dish covered with a crumbly topping (something like that found on some coffee cakes) composed of flour, brown sugar and butter, cut together until its about sand sized. No putzing around getting the right amount of water in or trying to roll it out. It takes about five minutes to make. I dont remember actual quantities but recipes should be available in many cookbooks (my favorite is from the 'Tassajara Bread Book'). The other is apple cobbler (which also works for many other fruits). It's similar to apple crisp except that the topping is some sort of pastry. I've had a wide variety of different pastrys ranging from pie crust (in which case you have a sort of a one crust pie) to cake like substances. My favorite is a rich, slightly sweet biscuit dough. Just make the biscuits (from bisquick if you're really lazy) and stretch the dough out to cover the apples. Biscuit recipes are also widely available. Try Joy of Cooking (Fluffy biscuits) if you don't have your own favorite.