old fashioned apple pie
Ingredients
Makes one 9-inch double crust pie
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 pounds assorted cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-to 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, washed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, ,cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling
Method
1. Turn out 1 piece of dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
2. Roll out remaining dough on parchment paper to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and cream in a small bowl; set egg wash aside. Put apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar,cornstarch, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl; toss to combine. Fill pie shell with apple mixture, and dot with butter. Lightly brush edge of pie with a wet pastry brush. Place dough round on top of pie. Trim edges flush with rim; press to seal. Crimp edges as desired. Make four 1/2-inch slits in center of pie. Brush top with egg wash; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze 30 minutes.
Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly. Let cool completely on a rack.
caramel pecan apple pie
Pie & Filling
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
7 C sliced peeled tart apples
1 t lemon juice
1 t vanilla
3/4 C chopped pecans
1/3 C packed brown sugar
3 T sugar
4-1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 T cornstarch
1/4 C caramel ice cream topping, room temp
3 T butter, melted
In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and vanilla. Combine the pecans, sugars, cinnamon and cornstarch; add to apple mixture and toss to coat. Pour caramel topping over bottom of pastry shell; top with apple mixture (shell will be full). Drizzle with butter.
Streusel Topping
3/4 C all-purpose flour
2/3 C chopped pecans
1/4 C sugar
6 T cold butter
1/4 C caramel ice cream topping, room temp
In a small bowl, combine the flour, pecans and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling.
Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Immediately drizzle with caramel
apple pie
That gets prepped into the pie dish and baked for 6-8 minutes.
While that is baking, I chop enough pecans to make a cup (looks like a scant cup here) and start peeling the apples (Granny Smith). After the pie crust has cooled, I pour caramel ice cream topping into crust – the recipe calls for ¾ cup, but that seems like way too much, so I probably used ½ cup and then sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
By this time Bike Boy has returned from a 35 mile ride and is cold and hungry. I microwave a pack of cinnamon oatmeal, adding some of the sauteed apples and it's a hit.
The apples are done and I add them to the pie crust. It doesn't seem as if there will be enough room for all of the apples, that I am sauteeing in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until soft. The next step is the cream cheese topping. I mix up 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with lemon juice, vanilla, sugar and an egg until soft.
I add the apples to the pie crust and then cover it with the cream cheese topping –I didin't think it would fit on top of the apples, but it settles down into the pan without too much fuss. This goes into the oven at 350° for about 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. I set the timer for 20 minutes as I have a convection oven and tends to cook things much quicker. The pie is done and golden in about 22 minutes. At this point, I let it cool completely and cover it and refrigerate overnight for Thanksgiving dessert. For the topping, I whip heavy cream with a little bit of sugar and some vanilla until soft peaks form. I completely cover the top of the cooled pie and then add the rest of the chopped pecans and drizzle with the caramel syrup. Bike Boy and the boys have been circling for a while, unusual behavior for them as they don't usually eat dessert. I make them wait so I can take one last photo.
Delicious - Everyone loved it, and I've several requests to remake for Christmas. What the original recipe did not call for was chilling it overnight, but I think this is very important as the flavors really developed in the apples and biting into that cold layer really balanced out the richness of the cream cheese and whipped cream toppings.