Our featured recipe comes from A Book of Favorite Recipes compiled by Woman’s Missionary Union of Brushy Fork Baptist Church (1978), in Watauga County, North Carolina. At that time, The Woman’s Missionary Union consisted of The Reatha Circle, The Bea Circle, Baptist Young Woman, Acteens, Girls in Action, and Mission Friends. One of those members was Ivalee Greene Dancey, who submitted her recipe for No Crust Apple Crumb Pie.

My oldest brother was the inspiration for my search for an apple pie recipe. An offhand comment that he wanted an apple dessert at Thanksgiving led me to Mrs. Dancey’s recipe. In my family, it is a tradition to bring at least one untested dish to Thanksgiving, thanks to my dad’s adventurous palate.

Initially, this seems to be a recipe for an apple crumble, which would be more like a cobbler than a pie. On closer reading of the recipe, I saw that she called for an unbaked pie shell – meaning that the crumble is just the topping of the pie. I had confidence in the flavor of her pie, as I imagined that she had made this pie for the generations of nieces and nephews whom she loved as if they were her own children.

For the apples, I chose to mix both Granny Smith for its tartness and Honeycrisp for its sweetness. Since the pie shells come in a pack of two, I made two pies.

After assembling the pies, they went into the refrigerator overnight. The following morning, I pulled them out for baking so they would be fresh for the Thanksgiving meal.

While baking, my home was filled with the warm scent of cinnamon and apples. These pies are juicy, so I packed them carefully for the journey.

But were they good? Absolutely! The crumb topping flaked, providing a pleasant contrast to the softness of the apple slices. And when topped with whipped cream or ice cream, they are divine. Thank you, Ivalee, for such an easy and delectable recipe.

-Carolyn Shankle