Apple-Brown Sugar Pie

One of my favorite columns in all of my food magazines is the “RSVP” section in Bon Appétit. Readers write in to request recipes for amazing restaurant dishes. This recipe is from that column. 🙂

I thought that it was incredible that the apple pie I made last Thanksgiving had over four pounds of apples in the filling. This pie also had four pounds of apples- and they were roasted before filling the crust- packing in even more flavor. Delicious!!

This recipe was adapted from Macrina Bakery in Seattle, via Bon Appétit. I used the recipe for an all-butter crust from my Perfect Apple Pie, used a combination of apples, and made a braided lattice-top crust sprinkled with turbinado sugar. I also covered the pie with a foil dome while baking to prevent over-browning.

Yield: 8 Servings

For the Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) flour
• 1 T (15 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces, 225 grams tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, optional
• coarse or raw sugar for sprinkling, optional

For the Filling and Assembly:

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced into ½-inch wedges
• 2 pounds Jazz apples, peeled, sliced into ½-inch wedges
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
• ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 2 T turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

To Serve:

• Lightly sweetened crème fraîche, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional

Make the Crust:

1. Gather your ingredients: Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside.
2. In a large, very wide bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
3. Dice two sticks (8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces. (If the butter becomes slightly warm, re-refrigerate until very cold.)
4. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with a pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly.
5. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas — this won’t take long — stop- even if it looks uneven.
6. Start by drizzling 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the ice-cold water (but not the cubes, if there are any left!) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together.
7. Add an additional 1/4 cup (60 ml) of cold water to bring it together, one tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and use your hands to gather the damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.
8. Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. I like to use the sides to pull in the dough and shape it into a disk.
9. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, but preferably at least two, before rolling it out. (I make my dough a day in advance.)
10. Once the dough is chilled and ready to go, roll out the first half on a well-floured counter into a 14-inch circle and transfer it to 9-inch standard (not deep-dish) pie plate.
11. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim overhang to one inch all around. Refrigerate dish and dough until needed.
12. For a regular pie lid, roll out the second dough half into the same sized circle, transfer it to a large parchment-lined baking sheet and chill this as well until needed. For a lattice or woven pie lid, you can use the same sized circle, or you can just roll it into a rectangle at least 14″ in one direction, and then as long or wide you can get it in the other. Transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill this as well until needed. (I made a braided lattice top.)

Do ahead: Dough will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

Make the Filling And Assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 350°, preferably on convection.
2. Toss apples, 1 cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup flour in a large bowl. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets; bake, rotating baking sheets once, until apples are just tender, 25–30 minutes.
3. Let the apples cool, then transfer apples and accumulated juices to a large bowl.
4. Add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1 heaping tablespoon of flour; toss to combine. Chill at least 1 hour.
5. Scrape apples into prepared pie crust and place dough over top; trim, leaving 1″ overhang. (I made a lattice top.)
6. Fold edge of top crust under bottom crust, press together to seal, and crimp. If using a full pie crust top, cut 8 slits in top to vent.
7. Brush top crust with egg, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar.
8. Chill pie in freezer until crust is firm, about 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 400°. Place pie on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, cover the edge with a pie shield and cover entire pie with a foil dome (see note); bake 30 minutes (crust should be slightly golden).
10. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue baking until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 50–70 minutes. (I kept the edge covered but removed the foil dome the last 15 minutes of baking.)
11. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool at least 4 hours before slicing. Serve with crème fraîche, whipped cream or ice cream, as desired.

Note: If your pie is browning too fast, take a large square of foil, mold it over the back of a large bowl into a convex dome, then use that to cover the pie in the oven for the remaining baking time so it doesn’t brown much further.

Do Ahead: Roasted apples can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled. Pie can be made 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.

Lattice-Top Strawberry Pie

One of our family traditions is to go strawberry picking in June. This year, we were able to pick them at the organic farm that produces our CSA share. The berries were absolutely perfect. The farm also grows many different varieties of berries, so it was fun to pick from different areas of the patch. We kept buying more containers to fill! We went home with eight quarts. 🙂

First, I made the “mandatory” Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Jam and Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. I also make strawberry pancakes and strawberry muffins. Of course, I had to try something new to make with my precious berries. This lattice-top pie was it. Lucky for us, I also had enough berries to make Strawberry Gelato as well. All delicious!

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times. I adapted the recipe by using an all-butter crust from Martha Stewart. I also used an additional cup of berries in the filling, used a 6-piece lattice crust, and sprinkled the top crust with turbinado sugar prior to baking. I also covered the edge of the pie throughout the baking time to prevent over-browning.

Fresh and fabulous. 🙂

Yield: one 9-inch pie, serves 8 to 10

For the Pate Brisee:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• coarse salt
• 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water

To Prepare the Crust:

1. Pulse flour, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until combined.
2. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds.
3. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water (5 tablespoons) evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between 2 fingers (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
4. Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (I made the crusts a day in advance.)

For the Filling:

• 2 ½ pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and halved to make 6 to 7 cups
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh, strained lemon juice
• 4 T cornstarch
• pinch of coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To Finish:

• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
• vanilla ice cream, optional, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Make the Filling: In a large bowl, toss together the strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Set aside.
3. Between layers of plastic wrap or on a lightly floured surface, roll out one dough round to fit a 9-inch pie plate.
4. Fit the dough in the pie plate and spoon in the filling. Scatter the butter evenly over the top.
5. Roll out the remaining dough, cut it into 1-inch strips (I cut mine into 6 pieces with a fluted pastry wheel) and weave a lattice top over the filling. Trim and crimp the edges.
6. Brush the egg over the crust and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
7. Cover the edge of the crust to prevent over-browning.
8. Place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 15 minutes.
9. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Continue baking until the crust is nicely browned and the filling bubbles thickly, 40-50 minutes.
10. Place on a rack to cool completely, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. Cut into wedges and serve, with or without vanilla ice cream, as desired.

One Year Ago:

• Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake

Two Years Ago:

• Strawberry Slab Pie

Three Years Ago:

• Strawberry-Graham Scones

Four Years Ago:

• Strawberry Summer Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
• Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Jam

Pear & Cranberry Pie

Hello, and Happy belated New Year! I hope that someone out there has not felt the need to modify their diet as I have quite a few recipes to share from festivities at end of 2016. 🙂 My kids have winter birthdays so we are still celebrating in my house!

This delicious pie was from our Thanksgiving feast. The recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Justin Chapple. It was originally a slab pie but I modified the recipe to bake it in a “new” estate sale pie plate that had to be used. It was absolutely wonderful with vanilla ice cream.

Yield: one 10-inch double-crusted pie

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• coarse salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 5 firm Bartlett or Anjou pears peeled, cored and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
• 1 1/2 cups frozen cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
• vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Day ahead: Freeze cleaned, fresh cranberries in a single layer on a plastic wrap-lined baking sheet.
2. Make the Crust Dough: In a food processor, combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour with 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and pulse to mix.
3. Add the butter and pulse in 1-second bursts until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Drizzle the ice water over the mixture and pulse in 1-second bursts until the dough just comes together.
5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather any crumbs and pat into 2 rounds. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes. (This can also be done a day in advance.)
6. Preheat the oven to 425°, preferably on convection.
7. On a floured work surface or between sheets of plastic wrap, roll out 1 piece of the dough to a 13-inch round. Remove one side of plastic wrap and line the bottom of a 10-inch pie dish with the crust.
8. Roll the second piece of dough into a 12-inch round; keep between sheets of plastic wrap. Place second crust on a cookie sheet.
9. Refrigerate both crusts for 15 to 45 minutes.
10. In a large bowl, toss the pears with the cranberries, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of flour. Spread the fruit evenly in the dough-lined pie dish.
11. Cut the chilled, 12-inch round pie crust dough into strips to weave into a lattice. Form a lattice over the pie filling.
12. Fold under the edge and crimp decoratively all around to seal.
13. Freeze for 15 to 30 minutes.
14. Brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
15. Cover the edge of the pie with a crust shield. Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake about 45 to 60 minutes, or until filling is bubbling, crust is golden, and the pears are tender; rotate halfway through baking. Let cool.
16. Serve with vanilla ice cream, as desired.

Note: The pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

One Year Ago:

• Pear & Almond Cream Tart

Two Years Ago:

• Luscious Apple Pie

Three Years Ago:

• Brown-Butter & Vanilla Bean Apple Pie

Four Years Ago:

• Apple-Pear Pie with Walnut Crust

Brown-Butter & Vanilla Bean Apple Pie

I love nutty browned butter and anything with vanilla beans so this pie was a winner! 🙂

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I modified the baking technique and crust.

For the Crust:

• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1. Place flour and salt in a food processor.
2. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some blueberry-size clumps.
3. Beat together egg, ice water, and vinegar in a small bowl.
4. Add egg to flour mixture and pulse just until incorporated, about 10 times more.
5. Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together. If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
6. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, forming each into 1 disk.
7. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

For the Filling:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 3 pounds Granny Smith apples (6 to 7), peeled, cored, and cut into eighths (twelves if extra-large)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• Double-Crust Pie Dough (above)
• water, for brushing
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is golden brown and fragrant, about 8 minutes; transfer to a pyrex bowl and let cool.
2. Toss together apples and lemon juice in a large bowl.
3. Combine flour, salt, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla-bean seeds in another bowl, breaking up clumps and combining with a fork or fingers.
4. Add browned butter to apples. Stir in flour mixture.
5. Roll out 1 disk of dough to about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Fit into a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. (I used a 9-inch deep dish ceramic pie dish.)
6. Roll out remaining disk of dough to a 13-inch round. Rolled-out dough can be refrigerated up to 8 hours. (Be sure to let the 13-inch round sit at room temperature until pliable before topping pie, or it will break.)
7. Place apples in pie shell, brush edges with water, and cover pie with top crust. Trim excess, leaving a 1-inch overhang. (Alternatively, make a lattice pattern with the top crust.)
8. Fold top edge over bottom crust to seal, and crimp as desired. Cut steam vents in top crust. Freeze pie 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection, with rack in lowest position.
10. Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
11. Place on a parchment paper or foil-lined rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Cover edges to prevent over-browning.
12. Bake pie on lowest rack 15 minutes.
13. Cover pie with a foil dome (formed using an inverted bowl).
14. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until well browned, about 45 minutes (convection) to 1 hour, or until bubbling through vents, up to 20 minutes more. (*I removed the foil dome (and uncovered the edge) after 1 hour and continued to bake the pie for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.)
15. Let cool completely on a wire rack, at least 6 hours.

Notes: The dough can be frozen up to 1 month. The pie can be made 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature. (I make my pies the day before Thanksgiving.)

One Year Ago:

Apple-Pear Pie with Walnut Crust (vanilla bean too!)