Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction Read online

  Pie Topping:

  4 tablespoons butter, melted

  ½ cup brown sugar

  ½ cup pecans or walnuts

  Preheat oven to 375° and line a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with foil and HEAVILY grease with cooking spray.

  Combine butter, brown sugar, and pecans.

  Place mixture evenly on bottom of pie plate.

  Make apple filling:

  6 to 8 tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

  ¾ to 1 cup sugar

  2 tablespoons flour

  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  2 tablespoons butter

  Mix together the apples, flour, sugar, and salt.

  Roll one ball of pastry out to fit the pie plate.

  Place half of apple mixture evenly on bottom of pastry; drizzle ¼ cup salted caramel on top, place remaining apples, then another ¼ cup salted caramel.

  Roll out second ball of pastry to fit the pie.

  Place on top and seal both pastry pieces together, you do not need to make a beautiful design because the pie is going to be flipped upside down. Make sure to still cut four 1-inch slits in the piecrust before baking.

  Bake for 50-55 minutes. Check pie after 35 minutes. If crust is becoming too brown, cover with foil for remaining baking time.

  Let pie cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.

  Place serving dish on top of the pie and flip over.

  Drizzle pie with remaining salted caramel.

  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

  Apple Filling

  6 to 8 tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

  ¾ to 1 cup sugar

  2 tablespoons flour

  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  2 tablespoons butter

  Pastry for a 9-inch pie

  Preheat oven to 350°.

  Make pie shells; put one shell in a pie plate. Crimp edges.

  Combine the apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.

  Pour the apple mixture into the pie shell in the plate.

  Dot top with butter.

  Crumb mixture:

  ¾ cup flour

  ¼ cup granulated sugar

  ¼ cup brown sugar, packed

  ⅓ cup butter

  Mix all ingredients until coarsely crumbled.

  Top the apple mixture with the crumb mixture to use on top of the pie instead of a top piecrust.

  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  You will need:

  2 9-inch piecrusts

  apple pie filling (from Dutch Apple recipe)

  caramel icing

  Prepare the two piecrusts. Put one crust in a 9-inch pie plate; roll out the second crust. Let it sit between wax paper while you prepare the apple filling.

  Apple filling

  6 to 8 tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

  ¾ to 1 cup sugar

  2 tablespoons flour

  ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  2 tablespoons butter

  Combine the apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon; mix well.

  Pour mixture into the piecrust in the pie plate.

  Dot with the top of the apple mixture with the butter.

  Place the second piecrust on top of the apple filling.

  Crimp the bottom crust’s edges with the top crust.

  Poke a few holes in the top for air.

  Bake at 350° 45 minutes to 1 hour or until crust is browned.

  While the pie is cooling, make the caramel icing.

  Caramel icing

  2 cups brown sugar

  dash salt

  1 tablespoon light corn syrup

  1 tablespoon butter

  ¾ cup milk

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

  Combine the sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter and milk.

  Cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves, to softball stage.

  Cool at room temperature without stirring, until the mixture is lukewarm (110°).

  Add the vanilla.

  Beat until the mixture holds its shape.

  Add nuts if using. Mix well.

  Quickly spread the frosting over the top piecrust.

  Allow to completely cool before serving.

  Once the pie is cool and the icing is ready, pour it over the top piecrust. Let sit for an hour to set up.

  I’d like to thank the readers who messaged me asking, “How did Tess and Jack get married?” and “How did Johnny become police chief?” and “When are you going to write another book?” Your interest, encouragement, support, and kind words about Goose Pimple Junction are what keep me going. Thank you!

  Thank you to my father, John Spears, for the stories he's told me all my life; to Lisa Binion for her fine editing; and to Ellen Mansoor Collier for reading and re-reading this manuscript! I also thank Emily Tippetts and E.M. Tippetts Book Designs for formatting this book and Anne Rackley for capturing the essence of Ezzie for the front cover image.

  And once again, thank you to my family for letting me spend so much time in Goose Pimple Junction.

  Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. She is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Facebook or Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

  Please look for book 1 in the series, Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction, and book 2, Heroes & Hooligans in Goose Pimple Junction, available in paperback and ebook. And visit Amy at amymetz.com.

  Copyright © 2015 Amy Metz

  This is a work of fiction. All names and characters are either invented or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotes in a review, without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Southern Ink Press

  1st Edition

  Volume 3 of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series

  Cover by Anne Rackley

  Interior design and formatting by E.M. Tippets Book Designs

  www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  SUMMARY: This is not your average Southern town. With a hint of mystery, a lot of laughs, and its unique charm, you'll catch a glimpse of everyday life in Goose Pimple Junction in this short story compilation. Short & Tall Tales occurs chronologically between Murder & Mayhem, book 1, and Heroes & Hooligans, book 2, in the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. Tales is a fun escape that will answer questions readers may have about the residents of this quirky small town.

  ISBN: 978-0-9897140-7-5

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Books by Amy Metz

  Dedication

  SHORT TALES

  1 - A Right Good Choice

  2 - Is it Hot Enough For You?

  3 - Don’t Mess With Maude

  4 - Take it, Take it, Take it!

  5 - Say Yes, Tess!

  TALL TALE

  1 - The Interview

  2 - See and Be Seen

  3 - Old Man Shaw

  4 - Apple Day

  5 - A Spurious Nature

  6 - Well, Bite My Butt and Call Me an Apple

  7 - Chief Butterfield

  8 - Crisis Averted

  9 - Trying Times Call for Frying Food

  10 - Talk of the Town

  11 - Donut Whisperer

  12 - Chester Pulled a Fast One

  13 - 1-800-CASH-NOW

  14 - Be Prepared

  15 - The Badge

  16 - Not an Ounce of Moral Fiber

  17 - Working Like a Dog

  RECIPES

  1 - Apple Upside-Down Pie

  2 - Dutch Apple Pie

  3 - Caramel Apple Pie

  Acknowledge
ments

  About the Author

  Copyright Notice