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Behold the season of giving! The holidays are upon us, and I am delighted to share this column featuring pie recipes from three winners of the annual Heritage Sylvania Pie Contest held Oct. 17 during the Sylvania Fall Festival. There were 14 pies entered into the contest including five in the youth category and nine in the adult category.
Thank you to local bakers Ellie Wegrzyn, Naomi Davis, and Melanie Woolwine for sharing your special recipes with our readers. Your generosity is truly a gift this season.

Brown Bag Apple Pie
Ellie Wegrzyn, Best of Show Youth Winner

Eleven-year-old Ellie Wegrzyn of Sylvania said this pie is special because it is baked in a brown paper bag and one her grandmother used to make. “It’s a single-crust pie, but it has a topping that to me tastes like a second crust,” she said. A first-time pie contest competitor, Wegrzyn said, “It was a sweet time getting to spend with my grandma who helped me with my pie.”
3 or 4 large baking apples (Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith)
1 cup sugar, divided
½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Cinnamon and apple pie spice to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
9-inch unbaked pastry shell
½ cup butter
Heat oven to 425° F.
Place apples in a bowl. In another bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, nutmeg and spices. Sprinkle over apples and mix well. Drizzle lemon juice into apple mixture. Pour into pie shell.
Combine remaining sugar and flour with butter; sprinkle over apples. Slide pie into brown paper bag; fold bag twice. Fasten with paper clips. Bake for 1 hour. Slit bag open and allow pie to cool.
(Recipe provided from Ellie’s grandma, Rita Skelding, and adapted from Pat Teijerio)

Chocolate Harvest Pie with Marshmallow Fondant
Naomi Davis, Second Place Youth Winner

First-time pie contest contestant, 10-year-old Naomi Davis of Sylvania Township wanted to bake a pie that would stand out against seasonal pumpkin and apple pies that other contestants might make. “My favorite part was making the marshmallow fondant on top. I want to be a baker when I’m older, so my mom thought it would be a good thing to try the contest,” she commented.
1 box store-bought pie crust (2 pack)
Filling
1 cup sugar 
6 tablespoons baking cocoa 
4 tablespoons flour 
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups butter
Marshmallow Fondant
Food coloring 
1 bag mini marshmallows
4 cups powdered sugar 
3 tablespoons water
Canola oil
Bake pie crust according to directions on the box. Use one for the bottom crust and the second for pie crust decorations (cutout leaves).
For the filling, in a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Melt the butter and add wet ingredients to the dry mix. Mix ingredients, making sure there are no lumps. Pour into baked crust and bake for 30 minutes at 350° F. Cool completely before decorating with fondant. Store pie at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For the fondant, in a large mixing bowl, microwave marshmallows and water until melted. Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. 
Knead on the countertop with oil for surface and hands until texture is like playdough. Color by kneading in food coloring of choice. Shape decorations and let sit overnight to harden.

Caramel Apple Pie
Melanie Woolwine, Best in Show and First Place Adult Winner

“This pie is a family favorite, and it’s special because I think it’s the first fruit pie I made after I started baking,” said Melanie Woolwine of Toledo.
1 double pie crust
1 cup unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup water
6-7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in pie pan. Fill with sliced apples, mounded slightly. Top with half of the sugary caramel sauce.
Cover with a top crust, using a full crust, latticework, or other variation. Gently pour the remaining caramel over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not runoff. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Bake 15 minutes at 425° F. Reduce the temperature to 350° F and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.
When pie is finished baking, allow to sit for at least 4 hours, preferably 12. This is a perfect pie to make the day before.
(Recipe adapted from happyfoodhealthylife.com)