Posts

Delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie

IMG_2985
Delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie

Beautiful to behold. Delicious to eat!  My Deep Dish Apple Pie is a recipe you'll treasure for a lifetime.  This classic favorite is equally welcome during the winter holidays or for a summer barbecue. Impressive mounds of deliciously seasoned chunks of apple are piled high inside a tender, flaky pie crust and finished perfectly with a ball of creamy vanilla ice-cream.  Watch it dissapear before your very eyes… this tasty wonder doesn't last long!


Recipe for Deep Dish Apple Pie (Serves 10)

Ingredients

FILLING

  • 4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored (They're crisp & won't turn into grainy mush during baking. Don't worry, we'll sweeten them up in a few steps!)
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

FLAKY, TENDER PIE CRUST

  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
  • 3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening cut into 4 pieces (measure, then refrigerate, then divide into 4 hunks because it hardens as it chills)
  • 1/4 cup very cold vodka (Yes, you read correctly! A secret to tender dough: the alcohol moistens the dough for rolling without developing the gluten then cooks out during baking imparting NO flavor! Alternatively you may substitute white vinegar.)
  • 3-4 tbsp ice water

Method

FLAKY, TENDER PIE CRUST & FILLING

  1. Dice the butter and measure the shortening and return them to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. 
  2. Place 3 cups of flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add butter and shortening and pulse 8-12 times until the butter is the size of peas. 
  3. Remove lid of processor and re-distribute dough evenly around bowl. With the lid off, sprinkle chilled vodka and ice-water over mixture. Replace the processor lid and pulse the machine until dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto floured board and roll into a ball. Cut the dough in half and form each piece into a 4 1/2 inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days (in latter case, be sure very tightly wrapped).
  4. Remove one disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll from center to the edge, turning & flouring dough to ensure doesn't stick to board. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave overhanging dough in place; refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes (this relaxes dough preventing slipping/shrinkage).
  5. While you prepare filling, remove 2nd disk of dough from fridge to rest on counter for 15 mintes. Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.  
  6. Roll 2nd disk of dough into another 12-inch circle, repeating method above.
  7. Remove dough-lined pie plate from fridge. Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers.  Refrigerate entire pie for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400 F.
  8. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.
  9. Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. 
  10. Store pie on the counter under a tea towel or in a loosely covered pie or cake dome. (Don't refrigerate as this will cause the texture of the pie crust to lose it's flaky tender quality.  Also, don't vaccuum seal it on the the counter as some air circulation is necessary to prevent trapped moisture from affecting the pie crust texture)  Enjoy!

IMG_2931
Delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie

Adventures in Pie

This Pecan Pie is the bomb!

Something about pie, part challenge to produce a flaky, delicate crust, part novelty for all the different kinds- from sweet to savory.  May I be so daring as to call myself an experienced pie-maker?  I’ve made at least 50 pies by now!  And, it’s your lucky day, because after having tested a multitude of pie dough recipes, I’ve posted (below) what I’ve found to be by-far the flakiest, tastiest and most successful pie crust of all!

Within the sweet realm, my favorites include French Pumpkin Hazelnut, Dried Pear Caramel Dark Chocolate and Classic Apple.  Today I’ve tried my hand at Pecan Pie for the first time and let me say it did not disappoint!  Don’t forget a little ball of ice-cream  on the side. Heaven!

PS.  I’ll be testing out savory Individual Lobster Pot Pies on my husband before serving them for a party we’re hosting.  Wish me luck… and stay tuned for the post.

Pecan Pie (serves 8)

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup

1/2 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or use Grade B Maple Syrup like I did, you’ll get a slightly looser texture)

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 Tbs. bourbon

1 Tbs. instant espresso powder

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. table salt

1/3 cup very finely chopped toasted pecans

2 cups toasted pecan halves

1 blind-baked all-butter piecrust, (Below), or use a store bought crust to really make your life easy

1/2 cup crushed chocolate toffee candy pieces, such as Heath or Skor

 

Position a rack in the center of the oven, set a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately whisk in the brown sugar, corn syrup, and Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or Maple Syrup if using) until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly.

One at a time, whisk in the eggs. Whisk in the bourbon, espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Sprinkle half of the pecan halves in the piecrust, followed by the toffee candy pieces, and then the remaining pecan halves. Pour the syrup mixture over all.

Put the pie on the heated baking sheet and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until set, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. When the pan is nudged, the center of the pie will no longer wobble, but the whole pie will jiggle just slightly, and the filling will bubble at the edges.

Transfer to a rack and cool completely before serving. The pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Email me if you want this recipe veganized, raw veganized, gluten freed or dairy freed 🙂

Recipe adapted from/Inspired by Fine Cooking 101, pp. 63 November 18, 2010

My Favorite All Butter Pie Crust (Yields Two, 10” Pie Crusts) 

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher  salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6-8 tablespoons (about ½ cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture.

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8-12 times, until the butter is the size of peas.

With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball.

Dump out on a floured board, divide in half.  Gently form each half into a disc with smooth edges. It may feel strange not to, but don’t chill the dough yet. Shape it into two disks and start rolling; you can chill the dough once the pie is assembled. This method is unconventional, but author Carolyn Weil says that ultimately you get the most tender result because you don’t have to struggle with a disk of chilled, hard dough.  (If only making one pecan  pie you may double-wrap 2nd half tightly and  freeze the dough for up to 2 months.)

Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan.  Trim the dough to 1” from the edge of pan. (If you have scraps, save them to make one or two little “donuts” for a chef’s treat!  Bake then dip in powdered sugar or jam- yum!) Roll the dough under itself into a cylinder that rests on the edge of the pan.  Crimp the edge and refrigerate about 1 hour or overnight.  This will relax the dough and help prevent the edges from caving in.

Blind-Baking the Crust

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 F. Line the chilled piecrust with foil and fill it all the way to the top (important, otherwise the edges will slip) with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 15 minutes, then remove- carefully- the foil and beans/weights. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F. Bake until the bottom looks dry but isn’t quite done and the edges are light golden, about 5-7 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Email me if you want this recipe veganized, raw veganized, gluten freed or dairy freed 🙂

Pie Dough Recipe Adapted from Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa

 

If you enjoyed this post say thanks by sharing.