For Mother’s Day, Donna Kelce shares family pie recipe: ‘Nothing beats a crumb topping’
NFL mama and baker extraordinaire Donna Kelce has shared yet another family recipe with her fans, this time for an apple pie with a crunchy top because “nothing beats a crumb topping rather than pastry.”
Ahead of Mother’s Day, women’s clothing retailer Chico’s asked Kelce — mother of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, recently retired from the Philadelphia Eagles — to share a favorite recipe. Kelce is apparently a fan of the clothing brand.
Last year Chico’s did a 40-question interview with her as she shopped at one of their stores. That’s when she revealed that creme brulee is her favorite dessert, but “usually anything with fruit on it I’ll take.”
This year Chico’s asked her for a recipe because “what says family more than a wonderful meal,” Chico’s wrote on its website, where the recipe is posted.
Kelce shared her stepmother’s “favorite apple pie recipe, and it was always meant to be shared with others or at gatherings,” she said.
“She used to make it all the time for neighbors that would move in, or if a family was having rough times. It was made with love and everyone that got one of her apple crumble pies felt her love. They felt the sense of community and caring. They understood that they were not alone in their struggles.”
She extolled the virtues of a topping made from sugar, butter and flour over pastry.
“Brown sugar can add flavor and moisture to bake goods. It is less refined than white sugar and contains molasses, which gives it a darker color, richer flavor, and a softer texture,” she said.
“The molasses also helps baked goods retain moisture and prevents the pie from drying out. The brown sugar topping makes this the best pie topping — as far as I’m concerned. I also add this topping to my blueberry muffins.”
She doesn’t like peeling apples — “time consuming!” — but pie baking is easier now that apples are sold peeled and sliced, she said.
“My boys were not fond of fruit pies, so I usually shared the pies at picnics, sporting events or other people’s gatherings,” she said.
But the “boys” love her chocolate chip cookies, which she famously took to the Super Bowl last year before her sons played against each other. That cookie recipe grabbed even more attention after Travis began dating Taylor Swift, another baking fan who has a favorite cookie recipe of her own.
Aramark sold Kelce’s cookies at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day to raise money for charity when the Chiefs played the Las Vegas Raiders. Aramark also sold them at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, home of the Eagles.
Kelce told Chico’s that food is “always front and center at family gatherings” and that sharing and passing down recipes “can connect us with our past and can create lasting memories.”
She shared an Instagram post about the apple pie on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday. She set it to a song Swifties recognized: “Clean,” from Swift’s 1989 album.
Here’s Kelce’s pie recipe.
Donna Kelce’s Apple Crumb Pie
Ingredients
5-7 tart apples (I use Granny Smiths) or two No. 2 cans (5 cups) sliced pie apples drained
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell (store bought or frozen is fine)
1 cup sugar (divided)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup enriched flour
1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel apples; cut in eighths. Arrange in unbaked pie shell. Mix ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
Mix ½ cup sugar with the flour; cut in butter till crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.
Bake 40 minutes or until done. (Usually takes longer than that. I watch for browning crumbs and bubbling juice). Cool.
Spoon whipped cream on top; sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar mixture. (I usually use vanilla ice cream or a cheddar cheese wedge but whipped cream works great too!)
