Take your pick of three classic versions of apple pie
By Jane Snow
Knight Ridder Newspapers
If cheese is milk’s leap toward immortality, as Clifton Fadiman once said, then pie is the apple’s bid for beatification.
As good as an apple tastes unadorned, it crosses into the realm of the seriously delicious when seasoned with cinnamon and cloves and served in a flaky crust.
In theory, at least. Anyone who has tasted gluey apple filling in a machine-pressed crust knows that even the best ideas can go horribly wrong.
That won’t happen with the recipes below. They are three different but delicious takes on the classic apple pie.
CIA gold
standard apple pie
Pie Dough:
11 tablespoons soft, unsalted butter
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3-1/3 cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ice water, plus more if needed
Filling:
2-2/3 pounds peeled, cored, thinly
sliced apples (about 10 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 of a whole nutmeg, grated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons
cornstarch
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sugar heated with 1/4 cup
water to dissolve sugar
For the dough: Beat the butter and shortening in the large bowl of an electric mixer until blended. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and form into a flat disc about 1 inch thick. Freeze firm.
Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Grate frozen butter mixture into bowl. Working quickly, and using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until the mixture looks mealy and the flour is coated with shortening.
Add water, stirring constantly, until a dough forms that holds together. Add water by tablespoonfuls if necessary.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. With the heel of your hand, push the dough down and forward across the surface about 6 times, until the dough looks smooth. Form into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
For the filling: Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the apple slices and lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir half of the sugar mixture into the apples. Stir in melted butter. Spread in a single thickness on a baking sheet with 1-inch high sides and bake for about 18 minutes, until the juices caramelize and most juices are evaporated, stirring once. Cool thoroughly.
Stir the remaining sugar mixture, tapioca and cornstarch into the apples. Reduce oven to 375 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of pie dough into a circle about 4 inches wider than the bottom of the pie pan. Press dough into pie pan. Trim the edges. Put the cooled apple filling in the pastry-lined pan.
Roll out the second disc of dough and drape it over the apples. Press bottom and top dough together to seal. Trim to a one-half-inch overhang and flute the edges. Brush with the egg-water mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes, until crust is golden.
Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Brush the top crust with the sugar-water mixture. Bake until the syrup caramelizes, about 7 minutes.
From the Culinary Institute of America.
Cran-apple pie
Crust:
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter,
cut in small pieces
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Topping:
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter,
cut in small pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup light-brown sugar
Filling:
1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
4 or 5 apples, peeled, cored
and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
For the crust: Combine crust ingredients in a bowl and mix together with fingertips, breaking up butter until mixture has the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water to bind, and form into a patty. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll pastry into a circle and fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp edges.
For the topping: While dough chills, combine butter and flour with fingertips until mixture is pea-size. Stir in brown sugar, allowing some lumps to remain. Set aside.
For the filling: Combine filling ingredients and mix well. Transfer to pie shell. Sprinkle topping over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, until pastry is golden and fruit is tender. Cool before serving.
From “Apples” (Simon & Schuster, $16.95) by Robert Berkley
Apple pandowdy pie
2 rolled-out pie dough
discs (homemade)
6 large, tart apples
(Jonathan or Empire)
2 tablespoons fresh
lemon juice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated
nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter,
cut in small pieces
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
Line a 9-inch pie pan with one dough round. Trim edges, leaving 1-1/2 to 2 inches of overhang.
Peel apples and cut in halves lengthwise. Core and cut into one-half-inch-thick slices. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss to coat evenly.
In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sprinkle over apples and toss to distribute. Pile into the dough-lined pan. Dot with the butter.
Trim the second dough round to a 9-inch circle. Drape over filling. Fold bottom pastry edge up and over the top pastry edge, pleating dough loosely around the edge. Chill until dough is firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie in the lower third of the oven until dough is set, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and use a small, sharp knife to cut the top crust in a crisscross pattern into 1-inch squares. With a metal spatula, press the squares into the apples. Sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon sugar. Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes, until crust is golden and apples are tender. Cool 30 minutes on a wire rack before serving.
From “Williams-Sonoma Pie & Tart” (Free Press, $16.95) by Carolyn Beth Weil. n
Best in pies — and best not
Most apples may be used interchangeably in recipes with acceptable results, but if you want outstanding results, follow these guidelines from the Ohio Apple Marketing Commission:
Best for pies: Gala, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Jonathan, Jonagold, Melrose, Idared, Law Rome, Fuji, Gold Rush, Granny Smith.
Best for baked apples: Gala, Courtland, Jonathan, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Idared, Law Rome, Winesap, Fuji, Goldrush, Granny Smith.
