Apple Pie

When the nights start getting cooler after a long hot summer, and the leaves show glimpses of turning color, that’s when apple season starts around here. We grow Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Pink Lady, and Fuji apples, all great for making apple pie!

Here is our favorite apple pie recipe, with an easy, no-fail, buttery, flaky homemade pie crust (the crust makes all the difference, don’t you think?), and a filling with a mix of different types of apples, spices, vanilla, and a splash of brandy.

My homemade apple pie is like a siren call to my family. All I have to do is pick up the phone and say “pie” to my father and he’s here in less time than it takes to clear a place at the table. You know when people are eating and they aren’t saying a word? It’s either a very good thing, or a very bad thing. In this case, it’s all good. Enjoy!

Photos and crust recipe updated. Originally posted 2006.

Apple Pie Recipe

• Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
• Cook time: 55 minutes
• Yield: Serves 8.

If the crust looks like it's getting too browned, take a large piece of aluminum foil and place on top of the pie in the oven. No need to wrap it around the pie, just place it on top. That will keep the top from browning further.

Pies always seem to take longer to cook than one expects. (Perhaps it's because we're always opening the oven to check on how the pie is doing?) The filling should be visibly bubbling, which you should be able to see through the steam vents. I recommend putting a rimmed baking sheet on a rack beneath the rack of the pie to catch the filling as some of it invariably bubbles up and out over the pie. Makes oven clean-up a lot easier.

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Ingredients

Crust Ingredients for a flakey pie crust

• 2 1/2 cups (285 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 10-ounces (1 1/4 cups, 285 g) unsalted butter (room temperature), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup (115 ml) sour cream (use full-fat sour cream for best results)

Filling Ingredients

• 3 pounds of good cooking apples such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, or Pippin (about 6 to 8 apples, depending on the size of your apples and the size of your pie dish)
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (to toss with the sliced apples so they don't brown as you slice them)
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your pie
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour for thickening
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp brandy (Optional. By the way, if you have Calvados apple brandy, use it!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp cream

Method

1 In a large bowl whisk together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add the cubed butter and use your clean dry hands to toss to coat with the flour. Using your hands work the butter into the flour, pressing the cubes of butter between your thumb and fingers. Continue to work the flour until the mixture is shaggy and the largest pieces of butter are no larger than a kernel of corn. Make a well in the center and add the sour cream to it. Use a fork to work the buttered flour and the sour cream into each other until the dough begins to clump. Separate the dough mixture into 2 equal sized piles and work each one first into a ball, and then into a disk. Sprinkle with flour and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out. (See more detailed instructions with photos on our Sour Cream Pie Crust Recipe.)

2 While the dough is chilling, peel, core and slice the apples into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. As you cut your apple slices, add them to a large bowl and sprinkle them with a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to help keep them from turning brown.

 

3 Combine sugar, flour and spices in a bowl. Add the flour mixture to the apple slices and use your hands to distribute the flour through the apples so they are well coated. Then sprinkle with brandy and vanilla extract and stir to coat all the apples.

4 Place one oven rack in the lowest position and put a large rimmed baking sheet on it (to catch any drippings from the pie.) Position a second rack the next rung up (still in the lower third of the oven) and preheat to 375°F.

5 Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Place disk on a lightly floured, clean, flat surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pie dough to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check to make sure it isn't sticking. If and when it starts to stick, gently lift it up and sprinkle a little more flour on the table surface or on the pie dough to keep the dough from sticking. Gently place the rolled out dough onto a 9-inch pie plate. Press down to line the pie dish with the dough.

6 Arrange the apple slices in the dough-lined pie plate. Mound the apples in the center.

7 Roll out the second disk of dough, again to 12-inches. Gently place the second round of pie dough over the apples. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang from the edges of the pie pan. Fold the dough under itself so that the edge of the fold comes right to the edge of the pan. Press the top and bottom dough rounds together as you flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.

8 Place egg yolk and cream in a small bowl and use a fork to stir until well combined. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the top and fluted edges of the pie. Use a sharp knife to cut slits in the top of the pie crust for steam vents.

9 Place pie on oven rack centered over the baking sheet on the rack below it to catch any drippings. Bake the pie at 375°F until crust begins to lightly brown, about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, anywhere from an additional 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the type of apples you are using. (About halfway through baking check to make sure the pie isn't browning too much. When it's nicely browned, tent the pie with a large piece of aluminum foil to keep the pie from browning further.)

10 Transfer the apple pie to a rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Great with a side of vanilla ice cream.

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Chinese Chews

Please welcome my dear friend, guest author Steve-Anna Stephens as she shares a favorite treat, Chinese Chews. ~Elise

Every now and then, I just have to bake something. Anything.

It’s almost always more about the baking than the eating. So, you’ll find me walking around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, and giving whatever it is away. Perhaps due to an unusually large spate of baking on my part, one of my neighbors has been passing up my offerings of sweets and homemade buttermilk biscuits, saying, “No thanks, I’m good.”

Now that’s a sad experience, having your baked goods declined.

So, when I asked the other day if he would like “some more of those date and walnut squares with powdered sugar,” and he said, “Sure,” I knew these Chinese Chews were a hit.

Chinese Chews have been a favorite in our family for years, but try as I might, I could not find the source for the recipe. A little digging revealed that the recipe for Chinese Chews first appeared in the June issue of Good Housekeeping in 1917. This version, handed down to me by my mother, varies only slightly from the recipe that was published during World War I. It includes an extra egg, calls for sifting the dry ingredients, beating the eggs well, and topping the squares with confectioners sugar (rather than forming them into balls and rolling them in granulated sugar).

What’s best about Chinese Chews is that while they are undeniably chewy, they aren’t overwhelmingly sweet. The crunchy walnuts add a nice balance to the texture, and the confectioners sugar sends a message to your mouth that they are, indeed, a dessert—not a health food bar.

There are many variations on the recipe for Chinese Chews, and perhaps just as many guesses as to why they are called Chinese Chews. There’s nothing noticeably Chinese about them, so that remains a mystery. Some versions of the recipe call for butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and even coconut. Others switch out the walnuts for pecans, and toast the nuts.

What’s your favorite way to make Chinese Chews? Please tell us in the comments. If you haven’t tried this popular, chewy dessert, you’re in for a treat. Your neighbors might like them, too!

Chinese Chews Recipe

• Yield: Makes about 3-4 dozen squares, depending on the size of your squares.

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 eggs, well-beaten
• Confectioners sugar, for topping

Method

1 Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease and flour an 8 x 12-inch pan – if you use a smaller pan, the baking time will be longer. Note: If you grease the pan, but don’t flour it, the squares will stick to the pan and be difficult to remove after baking.

2 Combine flour, sugar (not confectioners sugar), baking powder and salt. Sift with a sifter or fine mesh sieve into a medium sized mixing bowl. If you don’t have a sifter, whisk dry ingredients together well to combine.

3 Stir the dates, nuts and well-beaten eggs (I beat the eggs separately with a hand mixer for about 1 minute until fluffy before adding them), into the dry ingredients. It is not necessary to beat the eggs with a mixer, you can beat them by hand with a fork. Make sure ingredients are well combined – the batter will be sticky.

4 Spread the batter out as thinly as possible into the prepared pan.

5 Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.

6 Let cool completely, and cut into 1 to 1  1/2-inch squares. Note: Many recipes call for cutting the squares while still warm. In my experience, they are much easier to cut after they’ve cooled.

7 Sprinkle with powdered sugar, using sifter or sieve, as desired.

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Sweet Cherry Pie

It’s been a weird season for fruit here. The cold spring has put some crops off by a couple of weeks, meaning here it is in mid July and we can still get fresh, sweet cherries in the market. I apologize in advance if cherries are no longer available where you are. I just thought this pie was too good not to share.

Most commercial cherry pies, and the cherry pies my grandmother used to make for us growing up, are made with sour cherries, which are bright, bright red, and almost impossible to find fresh. Although we have generous neighbors with cherry trees, we’ve never thought to make a pie with sweet cherries until now.

My friend Maria served me a piece of her homemade pie made with sweet cherries, and wow, I couldn’t wait to make one for myself. I think what makes it work is not adding too much sugar (the cherries are already naturally sweet), and including some almond extract. There’s something magical about the flavors combination of cherries and almonds (see our cherry clafouti). By the way, it helps to have a good cherry pitter. Those pits can be rather time consuming to remove.

Sweet Cherry Pie Recipe

• Yield: Makes 8 servings.

We've used 1/2 cup of sugar for the filling, which results in a pie not overly sweet. You may want to use more or less sugar, depending on how sweet you would like your pie to be, and how sweet your cherries are.

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Ingredients

• Pie dough for top and bottom 9 or 10-inch pie (see pie crust recipe)

• 5 cups sweet cherries, pitted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp of butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 egg
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Method

1 Place the pitted cherries, sugar, almond extract, lemon juice and corn starch in a large bowl. Toss until the cherries are well coated with the sugar and other ingredients.

2 On a lightly floured clean surface, roll out the bottom crust. Form it into a 9 or 10-inch pie pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edges so that they extend beyond the edge of the pie pan by 1 inch. Place in the refrigerator while you roll out the top crust.

3 Roll out the top crust to about the same size as the bottom crust. If you want to make a lattice top (it's pretty and it's easy to do) follow these instructions for making a lattice pie crust. Place the filling in the pie plate. Dot with small dabs of butter. Cover with the top crust. Trim the edges. Crimp to seal the edges together. Score the top crust with cuts so that the steam can escape while the pie is cooking (unnecessary if you are making a lattice crust). Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.

4 Optional egg wash In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water or milk. Use a pastry brush to brush over the top crust. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar.

5 Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the pie in the middle rack, with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any pie drippings. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350°F and cook for 35 to 45 minutes longer, or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling is thick and bubbly.

Allow to cool completely before serving.

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Chocolate Ganache Torte

This over-the-top chocolate torte recipe comes here by way of my friend Rob Kent, who is famous among his friends for showing up at various birthday parties and special events bringing what is affectionately known as “Death by Chocolate”. I can only handle eating a piece of Rob’s Chocolate Ganache Torte once every few years. It serves at least 20, so it’s a great dessert to make for a gathering. Think giant chocolate truffle, in a chocolate cookie pecan crust, covered with a caramel sauce.

Chocolate Ganache Torte Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 20.

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Ingredients

The Shell

• One box “Nabisco’s Famous” chocolate wafers, or your favorite chocolate nut cookies
• 2/3 cup pecans
• Melted butter (1/4 cup or less)
• 9 inch spring-form pan

The Filling

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of the best available semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, well chopped into small pieces (use brick chocolate, not chips)
• More melted butter (up to one stick or 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup (or more) heavy whipping cream

The Sauce

• Melted butter (one stick, a 1/2 cup, or a bit more)
• Cane sugar (a pound or less)
• Heavy whipping cream (1 cup - or more)

Method

1 Prepare the crust. Chop/process the wafers and pecans until fine, add enough melted butter to press this into the spring-form pan (along the bottom and halfway up the sides). Bake in oven at 350°F for 20 minutes, put aside.

2 While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In double boiler melt the butter and then add the chocolate. When chocolate is swirl-able, slowly add the whipping cream, stirring slowly, until mixture is blended and smooth. Pour mixture into the prepared shell. Refrigerate for at least four hours.

3 Prepare the sauce before serving (the sauce, served warm, should accompany the torte, served cold.) Melt butter over fairly high heat. Add sugar until saturated (the heat must be high enough for the sugar to dissolve; when no more will dissolve, the solution is saturated). Stirring only occasionally, let the mixture “burn” just enough to turn into a rich caramel. Add the cream, stirring briskly until well blended and smooth. Strain if necessary for smoothness.

One nine-inch torte has been known to serve twenty adults, so be careful...

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Tapioca Pudding

One of my favorite desserts growing up was tapioca pudding. You don’t see it that much anymore. Kids get pre-made over-sugared puddings from the grocery store. My parents don’t make it that often as it requires too much (for them) careful stirring while the tapioca cooks. And you won’t find tapioca on any low-carb diets as it is pure starch, from the same plant as cassava. Yet tapioca pudding is one of those comfort foods that conjures up happy childhood memories. It’s actually really easy to make.

Tapioca Pudding Recipe

• Yield: Serves 4-6.

Look at the instructions on the package of tapioca that you buy. Some small pearl tapioca requires overnight soaking in water. If your package has that requirement, reduce the milk in the recipe to 2 1/2 cups from 3 cups.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (you can usually find it in the baking section of the grocery store, do not use instant tapioca)
• 3 cups whole milk (or skim milk with cream added)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

1 Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.

2 Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures (to avoid curdling).

3 Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Slowly bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir several minutes at a low simmer, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve either warm or chilled.

Note: If you want to make a more light and fluffy, but still rich, tapioca pudding, separate the eggs. Use the egg yolks to stir in first to the pan with the tapioca. Once the pudding has become nice and thick, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks. Remove the pan of tapioca pudding from the stove, fold in the beaten egg whites into the pudding.

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Chiffon Pumpkin Pie

If you are looking for a special pie for the holidays, this is it – a light pumpkin pie with beaten egg whites folded into the pumpkin custard, spiked with rum, set in a gingersnap cookie crust, and covered with whipped cream. The recipe comes from my friend Heidi who pulled it from the Boston Globe a few years ago. And as they say in New England, it’s wicked good.

Chiffon Pumpkin Pie Recipe

• Yield: Makes one deep 9-inch pie.

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Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups crushed gingersnaps (several pulses in a food processor)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 envelope gelatin
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs, separated (or 3 egg yolks and enough egg white substitute for 3 egg whites)
• 2 Tbsp rum (note original recipe called for 1/2 cup of rum, but I and several others think it's a bit much)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Purée made from 1/2 of one medium sugar pumpkin* (1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup heavy cream, softly whipped (for topping)
• Extra crushed gingersnaps (for garnish)

Method

Crust:

Set the oven at 325°F. Have on hand a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Butter it lightly.

In a bowl, combine the crushed gingersnaps, sugar, ginger, and butter. Press the mixture into the pie plate with the back of a spoon, making the top edge even all around. Bake the crust for 8-15 minutes, until it is lightly browned (baking time depends on the oven and on the type of pie dish you are using - a ceramic dish will take longer because it takes longer to heat up).

Filling:

In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the gelatin, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, milk, and egg yolks. Stir thoroughly. Set the pan over medium heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. Do not let it boil!

Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool. Add the pumpkin purée and the rum. Refrigerate the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it thickens enough to form mounds.

In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and granulated sugar until the form stiff peaks. Stir a few spoonfuls of the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. (If you are concerned about eating raw egg whites, use egg white substitute, dried egg whites, that you can find in the grocery store.)

Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Refrigerate for several hours.

Just before serving, spoon the whipped cream onto the filling and garnish with crushed ginger snaps. Cut the pie into wedges.

*To make pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.

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Rustic Apricot Tart

Leave it to the lady with the tree to have some great recipes for apricots. My neighbor Pat (the one whose tree is raining apricots this week) suggested cooking an apricot pie on the grill and passed along a recipe. I modified it a bit, but the essence is the same. The seasoning is brown sugar, cardamom, and chipotle powder. Pat says, “Be sure to include the chipotle powder!” and she’s right. It gives it a lovely subtle kick. Have you ever baked on a grill? When the hot weather settles in we avoid using the oven; the AC is working hard enough as it is. Now that I have baked on the grill a couple of times, it’s not so hard. Just make sure that what you are baking is not directly over the coals or flame or the bottom will get burnt. Instructions for baking both on the grill and in an oven are included.

Rustic Apricot Tart Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 recipe pate brisee pie crust recipe
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder or plain chile powder
• 1 pound pitted and halved fresh apricots
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 Tbsp chopped pecans

Method

1 In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cardamom and chipotle chile powder. Fold in the apricot halves and raisins, until they are well coated with the mixture. Set aside and let macerate for 10 minutes.

2 If you are working with chilled pie dough, remove from the refrigerator to let stand for 10 minutes before rolling out.

3 Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the pie dough to a 13-inch round of even thickness.

4 If you are cooking on the grill, transfer the rolled-out pie dough to a large, lightly buttered, doubled over square of aluminum foil. If you are baking in the oven, transfer to small-rimmed, lightly buttered baking sheet.

5 Place the apricot mixture in the center of the pie dough round, leaving a border of 2 inches on all sides. Sprinkle the top with the chopped pecans. Fold the edges of the pie crust up and over so that a small circle of filling is visible.

6a Grilling Directions.
Prepare grill (either charcoal or gas) for indirect medium heat. Carefully transfer the tart on foil to the grill. Make sure it isn't directly over any coals or gas flame. Cover the grill. If your grill has a temperature gauge, try to keep the temp between 350°F and 400°F. Cook for 40-50 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.

6b Oven Directions.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook tart for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.

Great served with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6 servings.

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