Skip to main content

Apple Pie


Can it be an American Thanksgiving without apple pie? I would wager there would be open rebellion if I did not bring my apple pie to Thanksgiving; it’s classic, delicious and seeing it on the table is very comforting.  By getting to bake it, my house gets to smell beautifully seasonal, full of apples and spice. 
I think the biggest challenge with apple pie is selecting the right apple. The apple needs to keep its shape when cooked; although I love them, it rules out Macintosh, which mushifies when exposed to heat. Granny Smiths are commonly used but a pie with just them can be a little bit too tart; Golden Delicious is another traditional selection but those pies can be a little too sweet. My solution was to use half and half. Bingo! A perfectly balanced pie!
I love double crust pies because then I can have a lot of fun with the top crust. For apple pies to be served at Thanksgiving, I love to use my leaf cookie cutters and cover the pie with crust cut; it looks like a crust of fall foliage. The added benefit is that the crust sinks with the apples as it bakes, preventing that strange hollow dome that happens to most double crust pies as the fruit bakes and shrinks.
Serve this up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and finish the Thanksgiving feast with a bang! 

Ingredients:
3 granny smith and 3 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced and tossed in one teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Egg wash
Sparkle sugar, for decoration

Crust:
3 cups of Pastry Flour
18 Tbsp Cold Butter, cut into cubes
½ tsp Salt
6 to 10 Tbsp of Ice cold vodka

Method:
In a food processor add the flour and salt, pulse once to incorporate.
 Add the butter, pulse about 10 times or until the butter is about the size of peas and distributed evenly.
While pulsing add 1 tablespoon of vodka at a time until the dough comes together when pinched between your fingers.
Dump the dough in a lightly floured surface and quickly form into two disks.
Wrap dough and pop it in the fridge for about half an hour before using. 

Roll each disk out into a ¼ inch thick circle and place one into a 9 inch pie plate. If you like, cut out dozens of leaves with special cookie cutters for the topping. Trim and crimp the edges of the bottom pie and pop it and the leaf cut outs into the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the apples, spices, salt, flour and sugar together, making sure to coat the apples evenly. Pour the apple mixture into the pie plate, and cover with the cut out pie crust leaves. Brush them with egg wash and sprinkle the sparkle sugar on top.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour, coving the edges with foil if they start to brown prematurely. Cool the pie on a wire rack for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Cookies

Like many of you, I made an entire Thanksgiving Day feast for only my husband and I. As such, I have an inordinate amount of leftovers. Expect my blog to largely star ways to dress up leftovers, because I have freezer meals of Thanksgiving day to last a lifetime. In this recipe, I was looking for a way to use up cranberry sauce and leftover walnuts from my apple crisp. Cranberry sauce drop cookies seemed the perfect thing to make; enjoy it with a cup of hot cocoa. I plan on gifting some to my parents; a way to break bread near the holiday without breaking protocols. Enjoy!  Ingredients: 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 sticks of butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 cup cranberry sauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside a rimmed baking tray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. With ...

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients:  3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garl...

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar.  My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together.  I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 ...