One of the things I remember I remember from the movie “Michael” is when Andie MacDowell sings her pie song, “Pie, Me-o-my, I love pie!” To me, the best thing about pie is the filling. I’ve been known to eat the apples of an apple pie only. And I’ll do it again too. What goes in the pie can be a make or break deal for me. With that in mind, I was looking forward to putting Lucky Leaf Pie Fillings to the test this weekend.

Lucky Leaf is a family-owned company that started in 1949. Originally making only applesauce, their products now include premium pie filling, apple juice, apple butter, and other tasty fruit treats. For Thanksgiving, I got to test out their apple and strawberry pie fillings when I made dessert. I really liked that the pie fillings I tried don’t have high fructose corn syrup. Also, the actual fruit was listed as the ingredients. I know that sounds silly, but it’s amazing how some things are fruit flavored but don’t have any real fruit.

Even though I started off this post about pie, and the products that I tried are considered pie filling or topping, I decided to put their strawberry and apple filling to the test in a different manner – by baking up non-pie recipes. For the recipes, I used their new Lucky Leaf Recipe book, which is a nicely bound book that has 24 contest winning recipes. Each recipe was tested and approved at the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen and includes great pictures and timing guides.

Lucky Leaf Premium Apple Pie Filling or Topping:

The Lucky Leaf Apple Pie Filling or Topping is more than just apples. They’ve pre-mixed in cinnamon and nutmeg, which gives it a wonderful aroma. I’ll admit that I stood there and sniffed the apples for about a minute. I also liked that the apples had a nice firmness to them out of the can and weren’t too soft or mushy. Yes, I licked the can after dumping out the pie filling. All in the name of the review, of course. The apple pie filling wasn’t too sweet or sugary and had a hint of the spices that were mixed in. I used the apple filling to make their Apple Ginger Pecan Oatmeal Scones.

The scones were a big hit. One of the testers was VERY hesitant to try the scones since he’s not a big scone fan. After some persuading, he took a little bite, and it was huge fun watching the expressions on his face as he registered, “hey…this isn’t bad. What am I tasting? This tastes good. Hey! I actually like this!” I would call the final product “apples with scone mix” and not “scones with apples” because the apples are definitely the featured product and the highlight of this baked treat.

Lucky Leaf Premium Strawberry Filling or Topping:

The Lucky Leaf Strawberry Pie Filling or Topping is a wonderful blend of strawberries drenched in a strawberry syrup. This was another case where I used my finger to lick up all the syrupy reside from inside the can. It had a great balance between the strawberry and the sugar, without too much sweetness. The strawberry pie filling was used to make Strawberry Angel Food Cake (this recipe is on the back of the can.)

Another delicious treat. We topped the cake with some whip cream and it was perfect. Just the right mix of flavors between the strawberry and the cake. I was impressed that the strawberry topping didn’t change the cake texture and that the finally dessert was still light and moist.

Both of these Lucky Leaf products were absolutely delicious and made my desserts taste like they could’ve come from a professional bakery. I’m actually inspired to go out and get a couple more cans because there are a few other desserts that caught my eye in their recipe book. I also wouldn’t be surprised if I just heated up a can of the Apple Pie Filling or Topping and just ate it warm. Mmmm.

Lucky Leaf has a few great promotions on their website, one is a chance to enter to win a trip to New York in their Lucky Leaf Taste of New York Giveaway and they also have a $1.00 off any two Lucky Leaf pie filling coupon. Finally, they have a great deal where you can receive their Lucky Leaf Recipe Book by mailing in 2 proofs of purchase and $2.95 S&H. You can also try to win the recipe book and some pie baking tools in the WCatDD Lucky Leaf Pie Giveaway!

The Prize:

One winner will receive their very own Lucky Leaf pie making package which includes: two varieties of pie filling, a glass pie pan, a can opener and the Lucky Leaf cook book.

To Enter:

Make sure you follow the directions carefully. All giveaway entries should use the ENTRY FORM. You only need to fill out the ENTRY FORM once, unless you decide to additional earn extra entries at a later time. You can earn up to 14 entries into the WCatDD Lucky Leaf Pie Giveaway by doing one, some or all of the following:

Ways to Earn Entries:

Make sure you use this ENTRY FORM for your entries to count!

1. THIS ENTRY IS REQUIRED FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO BE VALID (+1): Visit the Lucky Leaf website (www.luckyleaf.com) and tell me what product – other than the two I tested – you would like to try.
2. Post this giveaway on your blog (+3)
3. Tweet about this giveaway using the “retweet” link at the top of this post or by tweeting “I want to cook up delicious pies and desserts with Lucky Leaf in the @WCatDD Lucky Leaf Pie Giveaway! http://bit.ly/4UL8u2″ (+1)
4. Subscribe to WCatDD (+1)
5. Follow WCatDD on Twitter (+1)
6. Fan our WCatDD Facebook Page (+1)
7. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (+1)
8. Follow us using Network Blogs (+1)
9. Add the WCatDD button to Your Site (+2)
10. Vote for us in the Divine Caroline Love! This Site Awards – Note: Only available until 12/4/09. (+2)

The Rules:

One winner will be selected at random for this prize.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST, December 7, 2009.

Visit our Giveaway Rules page for general giveaway rules that also apply to this giveaway.

Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. No compensation was given for this review/giveaway. I did receive the Lucky Leaf Pie Making package from the company or their PR agency to use and test for the purposes of this review. This did not affect the outcome of this review.