After baking several apple pies over the years and not quite getting the one that my palate would scream on wows, I decided to try yet another recipe, after watching Anna Olson on TV this fall. I am not sure if this recipe features on her new book but it was very nice to watch the video with all her tips. You can watch it here . It was quite revealing to me to learn some new directions towards that “blue ribbon” quality!
Ingredients: 1 cup diced unsalted butter 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 3 tbs oil 2 tbs sugar 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup cold water 2 tsp lemon j uice or white vinegar
Filling:
6 cups of sliced apples of 3 different varieties* 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown packed sugar 1 tbs fresh lemon juice 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice 2 tbs oats egg wash (1 egg with 2 tbs water) sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling
* It seems the perfect Blue ribbon pie always has 3 varieties of apples: at least one for tartness, like honey crisp and one for body like granny smith.
Directions:
If you are baking this pie in the fall when apples are so fresh and juice, start by taking 1/2 of the sliced apples and cooking for 10 min to let all the excessive moisture out. If you end up with lots of liquid, cook it down a bit and then add the nice apple concentrate to the filling. Let it cool before adding to the uncooked apples.
For the dough, cut the butter in squares and let it sit on the counter for half an hour. I know, totally opposite of other instructions where you can’t barely touch the cold butter!
Start blending the flour with the oil (in a mixer for better control – a processor would also work but everything goes too fast) so the flour gets nicely coated, which will facilitate its mixing with butter. Add the butter mixing until you have a coarse dough, the butter doesn’t need to be fully incorporated at this point. Add the water and the lemon juice. The lemon juice will help the dough to stretch nicely later on. Roll up into 2 discs and put in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. It freezes very well too.
For a vegan version using coconut oil, for example, reduce the amount to 20% and add more liquid (butter has 80% fat and coconut oil has 100% fat).
For the filling, mix all ingredients together. At this point pre heat the oven to 400F. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit for a while before rolling it up, it is easier if it is not so hard.
Use a glass pie dish if you can which will distribute the heat more evenly when baking. Sprinkle the oats on top of the dough before poring the filling, it will prevent excessive moisture when baking. You can also use crumbled cookies for this purpose. Add the filling, top it up with the second dough, brush the egg wash and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Poke a few holes to let the steam out.
Bake for 10 min at 400F and then at 375F for about 40 to 50 min until golden and bubbling.
Yes! I loved the result!
Apple pie – with priceless tips from Anna Olson After baking several apple pies over the years and not quite getting the one that my palate would scream on wows, I decided to try yet another recipe, after watching Anna Olson on TV this fall.