great grandma's sour cream apple pie + recipe cards

by Stacy Altiery of InkSpot Workshop

Hello everyone! Today I want to share a super special family recipe with you, choc-full of “how to” photos and even a downloadable file for you to print. Also be on the lookout for a special discount promo code for all of you OMHG readers to enjoy at my shop. If your tummy is rumbling by the end of this post…..I’ve done my job well!

Today I am showing you how to make a “not so typical” apple pie and this tradition was handed down to me by my “not so typical” great grandmother Emma Geiger LaGorin. I was lucky enough to have my great grandmother alive and well until I was around 20 years old. I called her “great grandma on the farm” because…well… she lived on a farm of course! She was a first generation American, born of German immigrants who migrated to a very heavily German populated, rural area of Ohio, called Defiance (in the area of New Bavaria, Ohio). She grew up speaking German until WWII then everyone ceased speaking the language during those times. Grandma on the farm then married my great grandfather Albert, who was a first generation American, born of Swedish parents. Together they had 4 children (including my grandfather) and raised them all on the family farm. Without reservation I can tell you this bunch was seriously fed well.

By the time I came around there were no more animals on the farm, only crops. My grandfather would take me on the long drive from Cleveland to Defiance, a couple times a year and what educational car rides those were, even included smoking cigars together on a few occasions. I will forever treasure those rides, especially when I came to realize years later there was something called the Ohio Turnpike, which grandpa never took and cut the drive time in half! I grew up believing Ohio was huge and full of dirt roads only!

Each visit to grandma on the farm’s house would begin with a huge dinner, farmer’s wife style. When we arrived and walked through the back door, instantly you would be welcomed by the smell of her fresh baked Sour Cream Apple pie cooling in the pantry. I would rush through dinner just to get to this sweet, tangy, creamy pie! Till this day when I bake this pie I’m transported to grandma on the farm’s house.

It wouldn’t be until many years later that I would develop an interest in cooking, even obtain a culinary degree. Although I’m not really a baker, this is one pie I can’t seem to tire of. Sure wish I would have spent more years in the kitchen with grandma, but I think she tried to get all the baking out of the way before we arrived so we could spend 100% of our time visiting:) Which is exactly how we spent our visits. My grandfather told me she would make this pie with peaches in the Summer! Wow. As a young adult I started making this pie for Thanksgiving and now this holiday is not complete without great grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Pie but it is a perfect recipe to share during Christmas too.

Thanks for letting me go down memory lane with you today and share a recipe which is very near and dear to my heart. I hope this posting sparks a new tradition in your family for years to enjoy!

Gather All Ingredients aka, Mise en place.
A little culinary lingo for you:)

Fill your favorite pie pan, lined with your favorite crust, with enough cored, peeled and sliced apples (I prefer Granny Smith’s)

I’ve included a recipe for my favorite pie crust
Click here to download

Beat together eggs, sugar, salt, lemon juice then sour cream

Pour sour cream mixture over apples and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Then combine crumble topping, sprinkle over pie and bake at 350 degrees for another 35 minutes or until bubbly and yummy.