Along with hosting a fun giveaway for my birthday yesterday (what are you waiting for…go enter!), I enjoyed a slice of delicious apple pie courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito himself! Well, I actually cooked it myself, but I got the recipe from Rocco’s fantastic new cookbook: “Now Eat This! 150 of America’s Great Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories.” Despite my desire to edit the subtitle to “Less Than 350 Calories”—you can take the girl out of the journalism school, but can’t take the journalism school out of the girl—my family and I have been having a great time trying out several recipes from this bestseller.

Yummy food and a cute chef? Don’t mind if I do!

So in lieu of a birthday cake, I set my sights on tackling the apple pie a la Rocco. You’ll have to grab a copy of the cookbook for the exact recipe, but I’ll give you a photo tour of my experience!

I peeled, cored and cut the apples…

and added my own flair of lemon juice (a trick I learned on the Food Network) to keep the apples from browning while I was a bit slow with preparation.

Then I coated the apples in a special spice mixture. 

Next I poured all the ingredients for the crumb topping in the food processor. This formula reminds me more of my Mom’s apple crisp recipe than apple pie, but either way, it tastes great! 

And the topless shot ;)

All in a pie pan and ready to bake!

The heat is on!

And fresh out of the oven.

This was one of my favorite of Rocco’s recipes so far! What a great (and healthful) way to celebrate my birthday. Thank you to all who sent well wishes and shared in the fun with me! 

What are some of your favorite birthday treats?