I'm not a big fan of drinks that are overly sweet. Some people would disagree with that statement considering I've been known to enjoy a glass of vinho verde or two..or three. But that's about as sweet as I can do with wines. Sangria is usually too sweet for me. I love the fruit, but the drink itself gives me a headache. That being said, this white sangria is my perfect summer wine drink. It's the amazing solution to all of my sangria woes! A splash of club soda tones the sweetness down, and you even get to enjoy the delicious fresh fruit afterwards. I'm just not the type to leave the fruit in my cup. If I had it my way I'd skip the liquid wine and just eat the wine soaked fruit. Unfortunately I'll add that to my long list of ideal activities that are not acceptable in the real world. 

I got the recipe from my friend Melissa who made it at a dinner party last weekend. It took me less than a week to make my own batch, and I have a feeling I'll be making this plenty in the future as well. It's the perfect summertime drink with just the right amount of sweetness. White wine sangria might be a bit odd come November, so seize the season! You won't regret it. 

White Sangria

2 Bottles White Wine*

2 White Peaches 

2 Green Apples

2 Limes

4 Tbs Sugar

1 Liter Club Soda

*Good wines for this: pinot grigio, white rioja, riesling, sauvignon blanc or chenin blanc.

Slice apples and peaches into thin wedges. Slice limes into slightly larger wedges. Pour both bottles of wine into a large pitcher, add sugar and stir to combine. Throw in fruit slices, squeezing a few of the limes as you add them in (don't squeeze all of them, you want the majority of them to be in tact and keep their pretty appearance). Place in fridge for 4+ hours. The longer the drink stays in the fridge, the more the fruit will soak up the delicious wine. This can even be made the night before if you have time. 

To serve, pour the wine mixture into glasses and scoop a bit of fruit in from the pitcher (you may want to use a slotted spoon for this). Pour a generous splash of club soda into each glass and stir to blend. Serve! Store the remaining drink in the fridge to keep it nice and cold. 

I always think of myself as a cake person. Some people order the pie for dessert. I don't give it a second glance. Why chose pie when you can have rich, fluffy, delicious cake and icing? It's taken awhile for me to realize that not only do I like pie, I can't get enough of it. Here's the catch: I don't like warm fruit. 

I had this discussion with some people I worked with this summer. We started off on how disappointing it is to find a "hot raisin" has snuck its way into your bread pudding or cinnamon roll. We all found the term "hot raisin" and our distaste for them hilarious, but really, keep the hot raisins out of my cinnamon bread/buns/carrot cake/etc. However, somehow when you cool a fruit down everything changes for me. I eat Honey Bunches of Oats with Raisins almost daily. One of my all time favorite recipes is for cold blueberry pie. Strawberry shortcake makes me swoon, and suddenly, after 21 years of thinking otherwise (counting since birth for simplicity sake), I now absolutely love apple pie...more specifically this apple pie.

The only remotely difficult part of this recipe is peeling the apples. I'm sure some people know the trick to this, but the only trick I could think of was to purchase one of those apple peelers (a.k.a I have no shortcuts). The apples in the pie are not like spiced apples, they're more comparable to cinnamon sugar apples. The topping is also wonderful. I used a store bought crust, but I'm sure if you have some extra time and want to go the homemade route that would make this even better. This would be a perfect Thanksgiving recipe. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp Pie
Recipe from Beantown Baker

Printable Recipe
1 9-inch Pie Crust

For the Filling:
6 cups apple chunks (I used 3 cortland and 3 granny smith apples here)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the Topping:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Core, peel, and slice apples. Transfer into large bowl with dry ingredients. Top off with vanilla and lemon juice. Toss to coat apples well. Set aside for 10-15 minutes while you prep the dough.

Fit your pie crust into a pie plate. You can even use store bought pie crust if you prefer. Fill pie crust with prepared apple chunks.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry topping ingredients. Pour cooled melted butter into bowl. Toss and cut until small to medium sized chunks form. Break up large chunks as needed. Using a spoon, sprinkle crumb topping over entire pie.

Cover pie loosely with foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes. Cool and enjoy.