A Caramel Walnut Entry Wins the Piermont Apple Pie Contest

It was a beautiful autumn morning in Piermont Sept. 27 when 14 local bakers competed for top honor in the 3rd Annual Piermont Apple Pie Contest.

Local pie connoisseurs – Mark Tasker of Balthazar, Chef Peter Kelly of Xavier’s, and Sylvia Welch – savored bites of each entry.

In the end, Norma DeSousa won for a beautiful pie with a lovely crust and deliciously creative spicing, organizers said. “When we spoke with Norma today, she shared that her long time friend, Margaret Shine, convinced her to enter the contest. They met nearly 40 years ago in Biology class at Nanuet High School. In the week leading up to the contest, they were back to experimenting – this time with apple pie recipes in the kitchen. Margaret’s mother, Bridie, was their inspiration. A lifelong baker, Bridie recently passed away. The ladies were using her apple pie recipe as the base and adding in their own twists.”

PHOTO/courtesy