Rustic Apple Pie

So, I think that I should just call all my desserts "rustic". They're not always pretty. But...they are always delicious. In my book that's what really counts.

This is one of my favorites...apple pie. A good American classic packed with taste. And apples are healthy, ergo...apple pie is healthy? Much to my dismay, however, Matt is not a fan of the cooked fruit. I know...I know. I love him anyway. It means that I have little excuse to make one of these unless I am taking it somewhere....or planning to eat the entire thing myself. While that would be delicious....perhaps, just perhaps, something I should avoid.

I like to make my pie with homemade applesauce & homemade pie crust. This is the crust I also used for my pumpkin & bourbon pecan pie, but will revisit the recipe here for easy access...

And without further ado:

Crunch Top Apple Pie
adapted from Paula Deen

Prep time: (not including the pie crust & applesauce) about 5 minutes
Cook time: About an hour, plus cooling time
Yields: 1-9" apple pie (serves 6 to 8)

Ingredients - Crust & Filling

• Dough for double crust 9-inch pie (recipe below, or frozen or refrigerated - I am a fan of the Pillsbury roll-out pie crust if I don't have time)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 TBS all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash of salt
• dash of nutmeg
• 3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples (I find 2 varieties to give me the best taste - use what's in season if possible!)
• 16-ounces of applesauce (I've used jar to great success, but lately have been doing homemade - recipe below)
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 2 TBS butter, chopped into small pieces

Ingredients - Crunch Topping

• 3 TBS all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS sugar
• dash of salt
• 1 TBS butter, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Line a 9-ince pie pan with half of the dough.
3. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt & nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the apples, applesauce, and lemon juice.
4. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter.
5. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of the pie.
6. For crunch topping: combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in the butter until mixture is crumble. Sprinkle over top of the crust.
7. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Apple Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 - 20 minutes
Yields - about 16 oz applesauce

Ingredients

• 3-5 medium apples - peeled, cut and chopped into 1 1/2" cubes (I like ginger gold, winesap, cameo, mutsu...any variety. I like to make my applesauce with 2 varieties of apples)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup sugar
• dash of salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in a dutch over over medium-low heat.
2. Put lid on pot and cook until apples start to break up, 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and using a food mill process apples into sauce-like consistency. (If you don't have a food mill or prefer a chunkier applesauce, mash with a potato masher.)

If you like, you can season with cinnamon before serving.


Double-Crust Pie Dough
courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Yields: enough crust for 2-single crust 9" pies, or 1-double crust 9" pie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes (includes 1 hour of chilling time)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 TBS vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
• 12 TBS (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
• 6 to 8 TBS ice water

There are two methods here - one is using a food processor, the other is a hand-mixing method. I've only done this by hand.

1. Food processor method: Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the top & process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Hand-Mixing method: Freeze the butter in its stick for until very firm. Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar and press into the flour, using a fork. Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater into the flour mixture, then cut the mixture together, using two butter knives or a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Continue for both methods: Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. Press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
4. Divide the dough into two even pieces and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it out and fitting it into a pie plate. (Note: I like to flour 2 pieces of wax paper and roll the dough out between them, it leads to easier clean-up).

TO MAKE AHEAD: The dough can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the frozen dough thaw on the counter top until malleable before rolling.


Enjoy!!