Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie

I love all things apple, so when my mom's work was hosting an apple pie contest, I knew that i wanted to enter.  I decided to make a version of this pie from epicurious.com.  Cinnamon and apples are a classic combination, and I liked that this version was a bit different from a traditional Dutch apple pie.  The crumb topping actually forms a crisp, sugary, cinnamon crust on top.  I thought it was delicious, and so did the customers at my mom's work, who did the voting.

I followed the recipe for the most part, but I did use a different crust.  The crust I use for every pie is Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  It is buttery, flaky, and delicious.  It uses a combination of butter and shortening to give it great flavor and a flaky texture.  It easily comes together in a food processor, and the recipe is easy to double, so you can always freeze half of it to use at another time. 

 

Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie

Crust (makes one 9-inch single crust)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose floor
• 2 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
• 2 1/2 T. very cold (or frozen) vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
• About 1/4 cup ice water

Filling

• 3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Topping

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

 To Make the Crust:

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients.  Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse just until they are cut into the flour mixture. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 tablespoons of water.  Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour.  If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary so the dough will stick together when pinched. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper.  If working on a floured surface, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured.  Fit the dough into the pie plate, and using a pair of scissors, cut the excess dough to a 1/2 inch overhang.  Fold the dough under itself, so it hangs a bit over the edge.  Flute the edge or use a for to make a decorative edge.

To Make the Filling

 Mix all the ingredients together to coat the apples.

To Make the Topping

Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.

Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream, if desired

Pecan Tassies

I made these "miniature" pecan pies for a football party on New Year's Day, but I haven't gotten around to posting it until now. I got this recipe from Gourmet magazine, and I took the a hint from At the Baker's Bench and added a little sugar to the crust as well. These are wonderful little bite-sized treats that I will definitely make again. I used a canister for a roll of film to form the crust in the mini-muffin tins. I simply placed the ball of dough into the tin and firmly and evenly pressed the canister into the dough. It will push the dough up the sides and form a well for the filling. If you like pecan pie, you will love these.



Pecan Tassies
makes 24

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon butter, softened slightly
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened slightly
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla

• In a bowl combine 1 stick of the butter, and the cream cheese, stir in the flour, and form the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into 24 pieces and press the pieces into the bottom and up the sides of 24 small (2-tablespoon) muffin tins.
  
• In a small bowl beat the egg lightly with the brown sugar and stir in the pecans, the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Divide the filling among the pastry-lined tins, bake the tassies in a preheated 350° F oven for 25 minutes, or until the filling is puffed slightly and the pastry is golden, and let them cool on a rack. Makes 24 confections.

TWD: French Pear Tart

Tuesdays with Dorie is celebrating its one year anniversary. I have been lucky enough to have been a participant since July. For the anniversary, Dorie herself was gracious enough to choose this week's recipe. She chose for us to bake the French Pear Tart from her book Baking: From My Home to Yours. Dorie has posted the recipe on her website. I made a few substitutions for this recipe. I had a leftover frozen pie crust from the holidays, so I used that instead of the recipe for the tart dough. For the almond cream, I substituted 8 ounces of almond paste for the ground almonds and the sugar called for in the recipe. I used a stand mixer instead of a food processor, and the cream came together just fine.


I liked this tart a lot. I thought that the pears and the almonds went well together. I used canned pears, but next time I would like to try the poached pears. I think that it would be a better texture to contrast with the texture of the almond cream. I will definitely try this recipe again, but next time I will try the original recipe with the tart crust and the poached pears. I might also add a bit of spice to the recipe as well, maybe cinnamon or ginger.

TWD: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is from Vibi of La Casserole Carrée She chose for us to bake the Thanksgiving Twofer Pie from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The recipe can be found here. The Thanksgiving Twofer has a layer of pumpkin pie topped with a layer of pecan pie. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was fairly easy to make. The only thing I would do differently next time would make the crust hang over the edge a bit more next time. It really shrunk up during the initial baking time.

This was a big hit at Thanksgiving dinner. My dad, who doesn't like pumpkin pie, liked this one, and my mom said it was the best pie crust she had ever had. I would definitely make this again. Be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their pies.