Apple Pie With Cornmeal Crust And Caramel Brandy Sauce Food

THE ULTIMATE CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the chunks of cold butter with a pastry blender, a little at a time, until the dough resembles cornmeal. Add the egg yolk and the ice water, and blend for a second just to pull the dough together and moisten. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
• To make the caramel sauce: place the sugar and water in a small pot and cook, without stirring, over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and add the cream and wine slowly. It may bubble and spit, so be careful. When the sauce has calmed down, return it to the flame, add the vanilla bean and heat it slowly, until the wine and caramel are smooth and continue to slowly cook until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and cool until thickened.
• Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the lemon juice. Peel the apples with a paring knife, cut them in half, and remove the core with a melon baller. Put the apple halves in the lemon-water (this will keep them from going brown). Toss the apples with the flour and cinnamon.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap the plastic, and cut the ball in half. Rewrap and return 1 of the balls to the refrigerator, until ready for the top crust. Let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes so it will be pliable enough to roll out. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin and lay it inside a 10-inch glass pie pan. Press the dough into the pan so it fits tightly.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice a couple of the apples at a time using a mandolin or a very sharp knife. The apples need to be thinly sliced so that as the pie bakes, they collapse on top of each other with no air pockets. This makes a dense, meaty apple pie. Cover the bottom of the pastry with a layer of apples, shingling the slices so there are no gaps. Ladle about 2 ounces of the cooled red wine caramel sauce evenly over the apple slices. Repeat the layers, until the pie is slightly overfilled and domed on the top; the apples will shrink down as the pie cooks. Top the apples with pieces of the butter.
• Now, roll out the other ball of dough just as you did the first. Brush the bottom lip of the pie pastry with a little beaten egg white to form a seal. Place the pastry circle on top of the pie, and using some kitchen scissors, trim off the overhanging excess from around the pie. Crimp the edges of dough together with your fingers to make a tight seal. Cut slits in the top of the pie so steam can escape while baking. Place the pie on a sheet tray and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil, so the crust does not cook faster than the apples.
• Bake the caramel apple pie for 25 minutes on the middle rack. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the freshly grated cinnamon. Remove the foil from the pie and brush the top with the remaining egg white. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar and return to the oven. Continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and bubbling. Let the apple pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow the fruit pectin to gel and set; otherwise the pie will fall apart when you cut into it.

APPLE PIE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST AND CARAMEL BRANDY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F Peel and core the apples, cut into thick wedges. In a large bowl mix together the first 8 ingredients: apples, flour, apple jelly, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes gently strirring every few minutes.
• Prepare the cornmeal crust. Stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into the flour mixture with pastry blender or fork until it resembles small peas. Mound the mixture into side of bowl. Drizzle half of the apple cider along the edge of the mixture in bowl. With fork gently toss a small amount of flour mixture with cider until dry ingredients are moistened. Repeat procedure with remaning cider and flour mixture. Gently gather dough into flat disks. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 to 24 hours.
• Roll out one disk of dough into 1/8 inch thickness between two floured pieces of wax papers. Remove and discard top sheet of wax paper and place dough over a 9 inch glass pie plate removing the other sheet of wax paper.
• Stir apple mixture and reserve 1 tablespoons of juice. Spoon apples into crust, packing tightly and mounding in the center. Sprinkle apples with 3 tablespoons of sugar and dot with butter.
• Roll out the other disk of dough as directed before and place over filling. Fold edges under, sealing to bottom crust and crimp into fluted edges. Brush pie with reserved juice and sprinkle with sugar. Place pie on a jelly roll pan. Cut slits on top of pie to allow steam to escape.
• Bake at 425 F on lower oven rack for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and move pie to the middle oven rack. Bake for 35 more minutes. Cover with aluminum foil to prevent crust from over browning and bake 30 more minutes. Pie is done when juices are thick and bubbly and crust is golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool.
• Prepare the caramel-brandy sauce. Bring whipping cram to a light boil in large saucepan; stirring occasionally. Add the sugar; stirring occasinally for about 4-5 minutes until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat add butter, brandy and vanilla and allow to cool.
• Serve the apple pie with the caramel-brandy sauce.

CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the perfect spiced pie crust: Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the butter and vegetable shortening. Work the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. Add the white vinegar, egg and 5 tablespoons cold water and stir until just combined.
• Form 2 equal-sized balls. Place each in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin; this makes it much easier to roll out the crust later. After flattening, seal the bag tightly. Place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove 1 bag of dough from the freezer (save the other dough for another use), remove the dough from the bag and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough starting at the center and working outward. Be gentle and patient; it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out. If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below while rolling, use a metal spatula to loosen it. When fully rolled out, loosen again with a spatula and lift the pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan (or you can roll the pastry over the rolling pin, lift it onto the pie pan and unroll it). Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan and tear off any excess dough. Then tuck under the edges and go around the pie pan pinching the dough to crimp the edge.
• For the pie filling: In a bowl, mix the apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
• For the crumb topping: Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, then add in the brown sugar, oats and salt.
• Add the apples to the prepared pie shell and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour, covering the edge of the crust with foil if it starts to brown too quickly. After an hour, sprinkle the chopped pecans over the pie, then bake for a further 5 minutes.
• Remove the pie from the oven and pour 1/2 jar (or more, if you're feeling dangerous and naughty) of caramel topping over the top. Allow to cool slightly before serving - or don't if you can't wait!

CARAMEL CRUNCH APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Combine flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon; spread into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 400° for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; crumble and set aside. Sprinkle apple with lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss with apples. Place apples in pie shell. Cut a circle of foil to cover apples but not the edge of pastry; place over pie. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°; bake for 35 minutes or until apples are tender., Meanwhile, in a saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with milk, stirring frequently. Remove foil from pie. Pour caramel mixture over apples. Sprinkle with topping; return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

CHEF JOHN'S CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, water, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.
• Roll out half the pastry to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate; pour in apple slices.
• Roll out top crust into a 10-inch circle. Cut into 8 (1-inch) wide strips with a sharp paring knife or pastry wheel. Weave the pastry strips, one at a time, into a lattice pattern. Fold the ends of the lattice strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp to seal.
• Pour butter-sugar mixture over top of pie, coating the lattice, and allowing any remaining sauce to drizzle through the crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until the crust is golden brown, the caramel on the top crust is set, and the apple filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 more minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

EASY APPLE CARAMEL PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Mix in apple slices.
• Place 1 pie crust in a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Add the apple mixture, gently pressing to pack in the filling. Dot with butter. Cover with the top pie crust and finish edges to your liking. Cut slits into the top crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour.
• Heat condensed milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until caramel forms, about 15 minutes. Pour caramel sauce over the hot pie.

BRANDY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the 2 1/3 cups of flour, and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly.
• Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms.
• Divide dough in half, so that one portion is slightly larger than the other, wrap each in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until easy to handle.
• In a small saucepan, over low heat, cook raisins in brandy for 13-15 minutes or until raisins are plump. Strain reserving liquid, and set raisins aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add the apples, lemon juice, raisins, and 1/2 teaspoon of the reserved liquid in the previous step.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough to fit in a 9 inch pie plate.
• Transfer pastry to pie plate.
• Trim pastry even with the edges, then add apple filling, and dot with butter.
• Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie, and place over the filling.
• Trim, seal, and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry, and cover edges loosely with foil.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until bubbly.
• Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

RON'S BRANDY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a large bowl, sift together flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and mace. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until pea-size clumps form. In a small bowl, whisk together brandy, vanilla, and whole egg. Pour into flour mixture and blend with a fork until mixture is moist and holds together.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Sprinkle with just enough flour and sugar to coat. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten and form two disks. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.
• Make the filling: In a large bowl, sift together sugars, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and mace; set aside. Place apples in another large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together brandy and vanilla; pour over apples. Add 3/4 of the flour mixture to the apples; toss to combine.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-inch pie plate; set aside. Place two large sheets of plastic wrap on top of one another on a work surface. Sprinkle with enough flour and sugar to lightly coat. Place 1 disk of dough on plastic wrap, and lightly sprinkle with flour and sugar. Cover dough with 2 large pieces plastic wrap. Roll out dough between plastic wrap to a 14-inch circle. Peel off top layers of plastic wrap and flip dough over into prepared pie plate. Carefully peel off remaining layers of plastic wrap. Using scissors or a sharp paring knife, trim edges to 1 inch. Reserve trimmings.
• Sprinkle reserved flour mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. Fill with apple mixture, mounding in the center; dot with butter. Roll out second disk of dough between plastic wrap following the same process as above. Lay over apples. Cut vents into top crust. Trim edges to 1 inch and seal crimping edges with thumb and forefinger.
• Divide beaten egg yolk in half. Add enough red food coloring to half the yolk to create desired shade of red; set remaining yolk aside. Gather reserved pastry trimmings together and roll 1/8 inch thick; brush with colored yolk. Cut out into leaf shapes.
• Brush top of pie with reserved egg yolk and attach decorative shapes. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Place pie on a baking sheet. This will catch any juices that may overflow during baking. Loosely cover pie with parchment-lined aluminum foil. Transfer pie to oven and bake for about 1 hour. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for another hour. During the last 10 minutes of baking, remove foil so that the pie has a nice golden color. Serve pie warm.