Don's Mom's Apple Pie from Penzeys done by me, Carly

This was my second apple pie, and this recipe came from the Penzeys' Spice Store.  I've probably told you this before, but when you go in their store, they have recipes all around their displays.  I believe they change them seasonally. 

So this was one of the recipes hanging around the store I decided to try, it's called Don's Mom's Apple Pie.  I don't know who Don is, but I tweaked his mom's apple pie a bit with a couple of different spices.  I made the pie at my parents' house yesterday while doing my laundry and spending time with my best friend.  She's been staying at her parents' place until she and her wife get their power back.

The pie turned out great, the crust tasted just like a Girl Scouts' Shortbread cookie.  I'm really glad I baked it all from scratch.  I also got to use the last of my apples that I picked about a month ago.  I'm also really glad my best friend is allergic to apples because there was more for me and my husband.  :-)

What you'll need for the crust:
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), cold and unsalted
1 1/2 cups flour (I used all-purpose, but I think pastry flour would work well too.)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons milk

What you'll need for the filling:
6 cups apples (I used whatever I had left over, but the recipe lists 4 Macintosh and 2 Red or Golden Delicious)
1/2 cup regular sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
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(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
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Instead of what's in between the lines, I used:
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice (all Penzeys)

1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon water (I didn't use this for the top, just the cinnamon sugar)
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (Penzeys)


Prepare the crust first.  Cut up the butter, put it in a large bowl, and add the flour, sugar and salt.   Rub it between your fingers until crumbly and pea-sized.  Mix milk in by the tablespoon until the dough just holds together when mixed with a spoon.  Divide into two pieces, one about 2/3 of the dough, for the bottom crust, on about 1/3 of the dough, for the top crust.  Pat each one into a flat disk and wrap in a plastic wrap.  Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

To prepare the filling, peel, core, and slice the apples.  Place in a large bowl, top with sugars, flour, salt and spices. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the pie dough from the fridge, sprinkle the table with flour, and roll out the larger bottom crust, flipping gently once while rolling.  Place in a glass pie dish.

(I should have brought my own rolling pin, that's my mom's in the background.)

Top with apple filling.

 

Roll out the second smaller top crust. If you want to use the egg white mix, brush the edge of the bottom crust with egg white mix, and then place the top crust on.  Vent the center of the crust with a knife, and then crimp the edges.  Brush the top with egg white mix, and then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. 

Place in preheated oven and bake until brown and bubbly, about 55 minutes.

Wait about an hour to cool, and enjoy!

Almond-Pecan Piecrust & Apple Crumble Pie

First I'd like to say is my heart goes out to everybody who was affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I live close to NYC and just north of NJ, and had lost power last night for about 10 hours, I'm quite lucky it came back on, considering there will be many people without electricity for a while.  :-(  Growing up in NJ and having gone down the shore every summer with my family while growing up, it's difficult to see how much Sandy destroyed.  :-( 

Since I had off of work yesterday, as did everybody in the Tri-state area, I wanted to bake something since I was very bored, and had time to pass.  So I decided to bake the apple pie I've been wanting to bake since the first time I brought back my half bushel of apples.  I was very apprehensive at first, since the lights were flickering a bit, but the news kept saying the worst would come later.  The slow apple peeler that I am, the pie was in the oven when the power shut off.  My stove top is gas, but not the oven.  :-(  The pie was nearly done, but I waited until this morning to finish it.  It came out alright.  It tastes really good, but it was falling apart and didn't look like a pie once on the plate.  Oh well, maybe next time I use this recipe it'll turn out better looking, oh, and I won't be stupid and think I have enough time to bake a pie while a major storm is going on.  Duh!

 This recipe came from my cookbook, The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking.  I made the crust first out of almond flour and pecan flour.  I had to special order the pecan flour from King Arthur Flour.  I don't think Bob's Red Mill sells pecan, but they do have almond and hazelnut.

Here's what you'll need for the Almond-Pecan Piecrust:

1 cup (4 oz.) almond flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup (4 oz.) pecan flour (King Arthur)
1/4 cup Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw (I used Stevia), or 2 tablespoons New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup salted butter or margarine melted
3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk (I used soy) or other milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lightly mist a 9" or 10" pie pan with spray oil.  In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, pecan flour, sweetener, and baking powder and whisk until well mixed.

Add the butter, milk, and vanilla and stir with a large spoon for 1 to 2 minutes.  The dough will be stiff and playdough-like.  Put the dough in the prepared pan and lightly mist the top of the dough with spray oil.  Spread the dough with your fingers, pressing it in an even layer to line the pan.  Prick the bottom and sides with a fork to help prevent bubbles (I forgot to do this) and air pockets.  Set aside.

Now, what you'll need for the Apple Filling:
5 cups thinly sliced apples (about 1/4" thick)
1 cup Splenda or Stevia Extract in the Raw, or 1/2 cup New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/4 cup (1 oz.) almond flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons salted butter or margarine melted
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia

What you'll need for the Crumble Topping:
3/4 cup (3 oz.) almond flour
1/4 cup Splenda, Stevia Extract in the Raw, Truvia, or Zsweet, or 2 tablespoons New Roots Stevia Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup (2 oz.) salted butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To make the filling, put the apples in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the Stevia, almond flour, cinnamon, butter, lemon juice, and liquid stevia and stir gently with a large spoon or rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.  Add this mixture to the apples and mix together until all the apples are thoroughly coated.

Then pour the mixture, juices and all, into the unbaked piecrust; the apples will mound up higher than the edges of the pan.

To make the topping, put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a large spoon or rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.  The mixture should be crumbly and dry.  If it lumps up rather than forming crumbles, refrigerate for about 30 minutes until hardened, and then crumble it with your fingers. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the apples.

Put the pie on a baking sheet and cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent burning.  Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for about 20 more minutes.  Remove the foil from the edges of the piecrust and bake for about 10 minutes, until the topping and crust are golden brown.

Let the pie cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.  Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!