Tipsy Apple Pie Food

THE BEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the dough: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and process until the largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Stir the vodka, vinegar and 1/4 cup ice water in a small bowl (or 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water if you're not using vodka). Drizzle the wet ingredients over the dough, and then mix with a fork until shaggy pieces form. Knead the dough in the bowl with your hands a couple of times until it comes together (it will look quite dry, which is fine). Transfer the large clumps of dough to a work surface. Drizzle 1 tablespoon ice water over any remaining smaller bits of dough in the bowl and knead again to bring it together. If the remaining dough is still too dry to come together, add more ice water in 1 tablespoon increments. Add to the dough on the work surface and press together into a single mass, incorporating any dry bits. Then pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick block. Divide the block into 4 pieces with a bench scraper or knife. Stack the pieces on top of one another, tucking any unincorporated dry bits in between the layers. Flatten the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick block. Repeat this process (cutting, stacking and flattening) three more times; this creates layers of butter in the dough that produces a wonderful flaky, almost puff pastry-like crust.
• Divide the dough in half and form into 1-inch-thick discs; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. The dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep it refrigerated or freeze it for up to 3 months.
• To fill and assemble: Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/2-inch wedges. Toss the apples, brown sugar, flour, butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl. Let the fruit sit for 30 minutes to extract the juices.
• Meanwhile, soften one dough disc at room temperature for 5 minutes. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick (about 16 inches in diameter). Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate. Soften the second disc at room temperature for 5 minutes. Then roll it out to the same thickness and diameter as the first disc.
• Carefully transfer the second disc to a 9-inch pie dish. Lift the edges so the dough slumps down into the dish. Press the dough firmly against the sides and bottom of the dish. Trim the edges, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to firm up. Remove the first disc from the refrigerator and let it soften for 5 minutes.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line another rimmed baking sheet with foil and place it on the center rack.
• Scrape the apple filling into the pie dish, creating a mound in the center. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl and brush the edges of the dough. Place the other disc over the filling. Trim the edges, leaving about a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the bottom edge up and over the top edge; press together to seal. Crimp the edge and brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Cut several vents in the top evenly spaced. Freeze the pie for 10 minutes.
• Put the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. Continue to bake for 45 minutes, and then loosely tent with foil. Continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices are thick and vigorously bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes longer. The juices will start to bubble at around 75 minutes, but they will thicken and bubble faster in the last 15 minutes; don't be tempted to pull it out until the bubbles are really going. (If using a clear pie dish, check underneath to make sure the bottom crust is evenly browned.) Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it cool at least 4 hours before serving. (Yes, it smells amazing, and yes, people love warm pie. But if you don't give it time to set up properly, the filling will be runny when you cut into it.)

TOPSY-TURVY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. In 9-inch glass pie plate, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Spread evenly in bottom of pie plate. Arrange pecans over mixture. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, placing bottom crust over mixture in pan.
• In small bowl, mix granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon. Arrange half of apple slices in crust-lined pie plate. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining apple slices and sugar mixture. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
• Place pie on sheet of foil on middle oven rack in oven; bake 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 35 to 45 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Immediately run knife around edge of pie to loosen. Place serving plate upside down over pie; turn serving plate and pie plate over. Remove pie plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.

TIPSY APPLE PECAN PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix raisins and bourbon; set aside. Spread all of the margarine onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Press pecans, top sides down, in margarine; pat brown sugar evenly over pecans. Divide pastry in half; roll out one half to 10-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Place over brown sugar in pie plate.
• Drain raisins; discard liquid. Toss raisins with apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon and salt. Spoon over pie crust in pie plate. Roll out remaining pastry to 10-inch circle. Place over apple mixture; crimp edges of pastry together to seal. Prick top crust with fork to allow steam to vent.
• Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F. Bake an additional 45 minutes or until top crust is lightly browned. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes or until filling stops bubbling. Place serving plate over pie; carefully invert pie onto plate. Remove pie plate. Cool completely. Serve topped with whipped topping.

APPLE PIE I

Steps:

• Prepare your pastry for a two crust pie. Wipe, quarter, core, peel, and slice apples; measure to 6 cups.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon. The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are.
• Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter or margarine. Cover with top crust.
• Place on lowest rack in oven preheated to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.

CLASSIC APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Peel and core the apples; slice 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, cinnamon and salt and stir until the juices thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. (The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
• Roll out 1 disk of dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Add the cooled filling and dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Roll out the remaining disk of dough into a 12-inch round. Lay the dough over the filling and press the two crusts together around the edges. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp with your fingers. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cut a few slits in the top crust to let steam escape. Chill 1 hour.
• Put a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack and preheat to 425 degrees F for at least 30 minutes. Put the pie directly on the hot baking sheet and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F; bake until the pie is golden and the filling is bubbly, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes, rotating the pie as needed. (Cover the edges with foil if they are browning too quickly.) Transfer to a rack and let cool until the filling is set, about 3 hours.
• Pulse the flour, shortening, sugar, vinegar and salt in a food processor until it looks like fine meal. Add the butter and pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup ice water and pulse until the dough begins to come together. Pinch the dough with your fingers; if it doesn't hold together, add up to 4 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse again.
• Divide the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pat each into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or preferably overnight, or freeze up to 2 months.

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.
• For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min - it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it's beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins. Now mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.
• After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin - 20-22cm round and 4cm deep - leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.
• Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.

THE BEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the crust, pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until blended. Add butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. While processing, add just enough ice water to form moist crumbs. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight., For the filling, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add apples and next 6 ingredients; stir to combine. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples have softened and released their juices, 10-12 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer apple slices to a 15x10-in. baking pan; spread into a single layer. Add cider to remaining liquid in Dutch oven and bring to a boil; cook until juices reduce to 1/2 cup, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour over apple slices; cool completely. (Filling can be made 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.), Preheat oven to 425°. Adjust oven rack to lowest position; place foil on rack to catch any spills. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a deep dish 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to within 1/2-in. of rim. Add filling. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Whisk together egg yolk and cream; brush top of pie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill 15 minutes., Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly, 40-50 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter or margarine. Using your fingers, mix together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add about 3 tbsp cold water - 1 tbsp at a time - to bind the mixture into a ball. Then wrap it in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge while you prepare the apples, or for 30 mins if you have time.
• While the pastry is chilling, core the apples, then cut into even-sized chunks so they all cook in the same amount of time. Put the apples into the pie dish, drizzle over the honey and add the cinnamon, mixed spice and about 2 tbsp water.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface until it is large enough to cover the pie dish. Using the rolling pin, carefully lift the pastry and lay it over the top of the apple mixture. Carefully trim off the excess pastry (this can be rerolled and cut into shapes to decorate the pie crust if you like) and press the pastry edges onto the dish to create a seal.
• Make a small cut in the pastry so that the air can escape during cooking, then brush with beaten egg to glaze.
• Bake the pie in the oven for 20-30 mins until the pastry is golden and sandy in appearance and the apple filling is bubbling and hot. Serve while still warm with crème fraîche, ice cream or natural yogurt.