By Jennifer Alexander Ruple

The aroma of freshly baked pies and a spirit of friendly competition filled the air as bakers showcased their best creations at the annual Sylvania Fall Festival Pie Baking Contest sponsored by Durocher’s. It was an honor to once again serve as a judge for the beloved event, coordinated by Heritage Sylvania and held Sunday, Oct. 18, at Mayberry Ice Cream. Seventeen pies were entered and graded on appearance, crust (color, texture and flavor), filling, and overall taste.

Entries varied in style and texture including a handful of apple pies, a cherry pie, a s’mores pie, a traditional pumpkin pie and a white chocolate fig pie.

Thank you to Judge’s Choice Winner Elizabeth Clark and First Place Winner Evelyn Frandle for sharing their award-winning recipes with our readers, judges and all who participated in this year’s contest.

Bourbon Pecan Pie – by Elizabeth Clark
“My love for baking came from my granny as well as my great-grandma Clark. She was from Kentucky and made everything from scratch. Pecan pie was always present at Thanksgiving and almost always at Christmas. While great-grandma Clark did not put bourbon in her pecan pie, I am almost certain she would approve of this nod to her southern roots,” Clark reminisced.

Ingredients

Use favorite pie crust
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 cup corn syrup
2 tbsp bourbon
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl whisk both sugars, salt and eggs until smooth, then whisk in corn syrup. Add bourbon, butter and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into chilled crust and transfer pie to foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until filling is nearly set, about 2 hours. Transfer pie to a rack and let cool completely.


Spiced Caramel Apple Pie – by Evelyn Frandle

“I created this recipe after tasting a delicious orange caramel latte at a coffee shop in Cincinnati. As people naturally do, I thought ‘this flavor profile might be good in a pie,’” said Frandle.

Ingredients

Crust
Use favorite pie crust

Filling
8 apples
Juice from 1 orange
2 ½ tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cardamom
½ nutmeg, grated

Caramel
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
3 tbsp flour
¼ cup cider with 2 tbsp cornstarch

Crumb topping
4 tbsp butter
⅔ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Zest from ½ orange

Directions

Butter crust with zest from ½ orange, 3 tbsp powdered sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon Peel and slice apples. Add to a large bowl and mix with other filling ingredients. For the caramel, melt butter over medium heat. Mix the sugars and flour in the melted butter. Let simmer for a couple minutes before adding cider/cornstarch mixture. Mix gently until it thickens. For the topping, cut the cold butter into the other topping ingredients until well incorporated. To the crust, add the filling. Pour caramel over apples. Put crumb topping on. Bake at 350 F for 45 to 60 min.