Apple Cup Pies!

I have recently discovered my love for turning old favorite recipes into new cup recipes. I think CupPies are so much easier to eat and handle at parties or gatherings; where you do not have to bother cutting pie pieces, yet they taste just as fabulous!

This is a recipe I just used for my family's July 4th gathering. Lots of people asked for the recipe so here it finally is!

Apple Cup Pies
(makes a dozen cuppies)

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pastry; one box usually contains 4 (if you want to make it yourself prepare enough for the size of two regular 9 inch pies)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Unroll the crust pastry. Find a large cup (I used a large 64 ounce cup) and use the rim of the cup to cut twelve circles in the pastry. Place the circles into the cupcake pan. Cut lattices.
2. Peel, de-core and cut the apples into small pieces, smaller than slices.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and bring to a boil. Once it turns into a thin liquid, take off the heat and stir the apple pieces into the liquid. Do not waste time doing this because if you wait too long the liquid begins to thicken quickly.
4. Spoon the entire mixture into the cups. Cover with a lattice work crust.
5. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 10 minutes or until apples are soft and lattice is lightly brown.

I hope everyone enjoys these as much as my family and I did! I have lots more Cups I will keep sharing! Enjoy :)

Love Always,

Elle

P.S. Thanks to the Camo Man for helping make this recipe happen!

My Big Girl Life

So as I am sitting watching an MTV Reality Challenge show, on the eve of my last day at the only job I have had through college, I have many different emotions running through me.

First, I am excited to finally be a Big Girl and take my first leap into the corporate world; working at what I am going to refer to as The Big Red Box. It is the first of many steps in accomplishing my life-long Fashionista dream.  Someday I will be CEO, or own my own boutique, or start a marketing firm and have a reality show- basically it will be amazing whatever I ultimately end up doing. Honestly though, right now, I think I am more excited about decorating my own apartment and shopping in the Target home section with all the new money I am going to be making.

However, I am quite terrified about moving away from my home in the backwoods of Florida, 600 miles away to the big city of Raleigh, North Carolina, where I do not know a single soul. It turned out quite a surprise when my mother also packed up her house and decided to move to Raleigh after I already signed my contract- but family does not count as friends in my book, while it will be nice to know someone.

But mostly, more than the excitement and fear, I am just sad.  I am sad to be leaving my dad back on the Florida beaches, along with my childhood memories. I am sad to be leaving my beloved University, which I have grown to love and take so much pride in these past 4 years. I am sad to be leaving my boyfriend, the Camo Man, and stretch our relationship across four states indefinitely. I am sad to be leaving all my pretty friends whom I have so much fun with. And, as of tomorrow, I am sad to be leaving my job, that while sometimes it is the last place I want to be, it is this best job I have had to date. I can only hope that I enjoy The Big Red Box as much.

So here I sit, staring at the empty shelves on my wall, the smiling faces housed in their frames in boxes, upon the threshold of my new world. I have decided to start this blog for many reasons. First, I thought it would be an easy way for my soon-to-be-distant friends to know what’s happening in my life, and also a way for me to chronicle my own story to “save for later” so to speak. But more than anything else, I think it will serve as a cathartic experiment for me, during my huge transition into my new Big Girl Life.

So I guess it begins now. This is me. And this is my Big Girl Life.

Love always,

Elle