If someone asked you to name something that weighs 25 pounds, perhaps you would say the kettlebells in your garage, the storage container in your closet that still has all of your winter coats packed inside or maybe even a cute, cuddly dog.
One thing that may not immediately come to mind as representative of 25 pounds is an apple pie. Yet such a larger-than-life dessert is available at Dolly Parton's Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee, which celebrates everything about Appalachian cooking and the region at large.
Specifically sold at Dollywood's Spotlight Bakery, the pie is an exercise in abundance like Parton's famous "big hair." In fact, many specifically seek it out when they visit her namesake park.
Thus, there's perhaps no better way to celebrate Parton's recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame than enjoying a slice of said pie. If you're not in driving distance of Dollywood, you're in luck. We spotted the original recipe so you can recreate it at home.
Dolly's well-earned induction
Over the weekend, Dolly was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
"I'm sure a lot of you knew that back when they said they were going to put me in the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame, I didn't really feel like I had done enough to deserve that," the music icon said as she accepted the honor. "And I didn't understand at the time that it's about more than that."
Parton's speech referenced the fact that she initially said no to the nomination in March before reversing course in an April interview with NPR. Parton's utter dominance of the world of country music (and the culture at large) has been ongoing since 1965, so it's hard to think of why she wouldn't be "worthy" of the nomination, as she initially suggested.
Still, Parton told the crowd, "If I'm going to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm going to have to earn it." Billboard reported that Parton then debuted a track from her upcoming rock album, which included the lyrics, "I still got rock and roll down in my country soul."
All about the 25-pound pie
The morning after Dolly's induction, Delish shared a recipe for the aforementioned pie, which is "made with 35 apples and priced at $189.99." If you buy the entire pie, you'll go home with the cast-iron skillet used to make it. If a gargantuan purchase of that ilk isn't your journey, Dollywood also sells $19 slices, which weigh in at 3 pounds a piece.
Dollywood's iconic 25-pound apple pie (Photo courtesy of Erin Keane)The recipe was published in a 1989 Dollywood cookbook called "Dollywood Presents: Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking." Because it's out of print, you'll likely have to scour garage sales, flea markets and yard sales to find one. Lucky for you, a digital archive is available here. The original recipe can be found on this page.
The pie itself is, by all accounts, basically an enormous pie without any frills. It's essentially pie dough and a standard apple pie filling consisting of apples, butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, lemon and the like. A Dollywood blog entry notes that the pie was conceived for the 25th anniversary of the park — here's a video of how it's made:
What do I do with my leftover apples?
Do you have leftover apples following a recent apple-picking excursion or trip to the supermarket? Queue up a Dolly playlist and start peeling because an amazing pie awaits you.
If you recently had a slice of apple pie, check out our 16 unique ways to use apple pie filling (that aren't pie) or 24 ways to go savory with apples (because fall's favorite fruit belongs in more than pie) for even more options.
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