When Pi Day and National Registered Dietitian Day fall on the same day, the only appropriate way to celebrate is by baking (and eating) a pie!I’ve only been a Registered Dietitian for less than one year now, but I can honestly say that I know I made the right choice when I chose this as my career. Being an RD is often very frustrating, and it can get annoying when you have to repeat over and over again to people that Google does NOT give the best nutrition advice, carbs ARE NOT bad for you, and juice detoxes are NOT the solution (among many other things that society engrains into our minds). However, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything in the world. I love helping people understand nutrition, leading them down the path toward a healthy lifestyle, and just genuinely helping people. It’s one of the best feelings in the world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Being an RD certainly isn’t easy, and I want to give a shout-out to all of the other amazing dietitians out there. Just remember: you are doing great work, and you truly are making an impact on the lives of so many people. You deserve to celebrate yourself not only today on Registered Dietitian Day, but every day.
Now back to the good stuff… the food! I absolutely love pies, but I’m not a big fan of pies that have a double crust. In my opinion, it just takes away from the pie filling and leaves you tasting only pastry crust. Lattice crusts? Now that’s slightly better, as it doesn’t have as much crust. However, pies with a streusel topping are my absolute favorite. When you bite into a piece of pie with a steusel topping, you don’t get overpowered by the flaky pastry crust – instead, you get a nice crunch and texture that compliments the filling very nicely.
As I was contemplating what type of pie to make to celebrate Pi Day (and RD Day), I couldn’t decide between apple or cherry pie. I have a HUGE bag of frozen cherries in my freezer that I wanted to get rid of, yet I had an abundance of fresh apples sitting on my countertop, waiting to be used. So the solution? A mixture of both – cherry apple pie!
This pie was exactly what I was craving today – extra crispy, just a little sweet, and a whole lot of flavor! I wasn’t sure how this pie was going to turn out, but after devouring this pie, it’s safe to say I’ll be adding this to my collection of favorite recipes!
- CRUST
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 9 TBSP unsalted butter
- 4-5 TBSP ice cold water
- FILLING
- 2½ cups frozen cherries
- 4-5 apples, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 TBSP flour
- 1½ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- 1 TBSP water + 2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved
- TOPPING
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 6 TBSP flour
- 1 stick (8 TBSP) unsalted butter (cold), cut into small pieces
- Pie Crust: Combine flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Use a fork or a pastry cutter (or your hands) to cut in the cold butter into the mixture.
- Add a few TBSP of water and continue to mix. If needed, add more water. (Add only enough water so that the dough begins to clump together).
- Form the dough into a round disk, about 5 inches or so. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then stick it in the fridge for 30-40 minutes (up to 2 days) to allow it to chill.
- When ready to bake, remove the pastry crust from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the filling. First, preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Filling: Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices.
- In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the apples, lemon juice, and frozen cherries. Toss to coat.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch and stir until no lumps remain. Add this to the bowl with the filling, along with 2 TBSP flour. Mix well.
- Roll pie crust out into a circle that's about 11-12". Lay the crust into a large pie plate. Pour filling over the pie crust.
- Topping: Combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Cut 1 stick of cold butter into small pieces, and use a fork (or your hands) to cut the butter into the mixture until you have a crumb-like consistency.
- Sprinkle topping over the pie filling.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 30-40 or so minutes, or until edges are browned and filling starts to bubble.
- Remove pie from oven and allow to cool for at least 45 minutes before cutting.
