Mrs. Smith's Classic Dutch Apple Crumb Pie - Product Review

Mrs. Smith's makes holiday pie baking a breeze with its line of frozen pies and cobblers. Frozen pie varieties include Classic Apple, Blueberry and Sweet Potato and cobbler varieties include Apple, Blackberry, and Peach. This Christmas I decided to take the easy way out of baking and opted to try a Mrs. Smith's pie. I purchased the Classic Dutch Apple Crumb Pie.

The Classic Dutch Apple Crumb Pie came in the classic Mrs. Smith's box which features the word Mrs. Smith's in a large, white font with a blue backing. There is an enlarged picture of a delicious piece of apple crumb pie right on the center of the box. The design is very inviting.

Nutrition

Mrs. Smith's Classic Dutch Apple Crumb Pie has 0grams of trans fats, 340 calories and 120 calories from fat, 240mg of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates and 14 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat per serving. Although the pie contains no trans fat, it is still pretty heavy in calories and fat, but that is to be expected with baked goods.

Preparation:

There is no hassle with this pie. You simply preheat the oven to 350 degrees, remove the pie from the box and remove its plastic wrapping, fluff the streusel, place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Then bake the pie for 55-65 minutes. Once the pie is finished cooking set it aside for 30 minutes to two hours to cool. The pie is easy to prepare. If you serve the pie on plastic or styrofoam plates and utensils you will have minimal mess to clean.

The Review

I must say that I was not pleased with Mrs. Smith's Classic Dutch Apple Crumb Pie. Firstly, the box says that this 1 pound pie can serve 6 people. To serve six individuals the slices would have to be cut very thinly. This small serving of pie will just tease your guest's taste buds. You will most likely need additional sides to accompany the pie slice for a filling dessert. It would be better if the pie was two sizes bigger. The apple crumb (streusel) on top of the pie was slightly dry and hard. It was not as crumbly as it should be. There was a hint of apple and cinnamon in the streusel that tasted just okay; it was not exceptional or yummy.

The filling was nice and moist but extremely sweet. It was not good. It tasted as though I was eating apples dipped in a bucket of refined sugar. It was awful. I have a high tolerance and addiction to sugar but this was just too much sweetness for me. There is about 23 grams of sugar per serving! The sweetness detracted from the taste of the apples and the ingredients in the filling.

The bottom crust was a huge disappointment; it was very tough and hard to cut through. I could easily cut through the top portion and center of the pie but once I reached the bottom that was it. No matter what way I nudged the plastic knife I could not cut through the bottom crust.

The only good thing about this pie was the outer crust. The outer crust was nice, crispy, and flaky and baked to a nice golden brown.