Categories: dessert, not tried
Ingredients
- For the pie dough:
- 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (118 grams) +a scant half cup (59 grams) all purpose flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- For the filling:
- 2 1/2 pounds (5 to 7 medium) apples
- 1/4 packed cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons apple brandy like calvados
- For the topping:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (94 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
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Stir together 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (118 grams) flour, sugar, salt in a medium-sized bowl.
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Add the cubed butter to the bowl.
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Using hands to rub, squeeze, and squish the butter together with the dry ingredients to form a homogenous, not-at-all-sandy fat-flour paste with consistency of play-dough.
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It will take a few minutes.
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Cover with plastic and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Remove the fat-flout paste from the freezer and spread the dough around the bowl with a rubber spatula.
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Add the scant 1/2 cup (59 grams) flour and work it in with your hands until it’s just incorporated. Sprinkle with the water, then fold and press the dough with the rubber spatula until it comes together into a ball.
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Form the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
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Alternatively, you can make the dough in a food processor.
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(It’s faster, but you end up with more dishes to clean.)
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Combine the 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (18 grams) four in the bowl of a food processor and pulse twice.
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Add the cubed butter, and pulse until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough begins to clump around the blades (25 to 30 pulses).
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Spread the dough around the bowl with a rubber spatula, sprinkle with the scant /2 cup (59 grams) flour, and give it 3 to 5 short pulses.
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Transfer the dough to a large bowl, sprinkle with the water, and continue with the by-hand directions above.
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Prepare the filling:
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Rub together the dark brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
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Wash, dry, but do not peel the apples, and cut them into 1/2 inch slices.
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Pile the apples into the bowl on top of the sugar mixture, sprinkle with the lemon juice and brandy, and mix gently with your hands.
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Assemble the pie:
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
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Remove the pie dough from the fridge, and let sit until rollable but still cold.
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Flour your counter, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin into an 1-inch circle.
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Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate.
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Crimp or flute the edges, if you’d like.
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Pile the apple filling into the shell – you’ll have a huge heaping mound, but it will shrink down in the oven- and put into the fridge while you make the topping.
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Make the topping:
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Melt the cut-up stick of unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
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Add the sugar and stir well.
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Turn the heat down to low and add the nutmeg and flour, stirring to form a thick paste.
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Remove from the heat, grab the filled pie from the fridge and, using a rubber spatula, spread the paste over the apples.
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You don’t want to cover the apples completely; they should peek out here and there.
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This “venting” keeps the apples from steaming and turning to mush.
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Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes, until the pie is a golden brown on top and bubbling.
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Let cool to room temperature, or just above, before slicing to give the filling a chance to set up.