Category: Apple

Skillet-Baked Pear and Apple Crisp

4/21/2020

I've been on a huge skillet kick lately, and this seemed like the perfect way to get my apple pie fix the quick-and-easy way. It's not quite easy-peasy, but easy enough with the right tools - a food processor and a 12" skillet, which might seem humongous for a single family dessert, but with all the fruit spread out, is mostly just a single layer thick, so quite manageable for two evenings' worth of enjoyment!

Topping

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup pecans
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling

1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds firm Bartlett pears—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3/4 cup dried currants
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Cognac
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350° and butter a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
In a food processor, combine the sugar with the flour, pecans and cinnamon. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is fine. Transfer the topping to a bowl and press into clumps.
In a large bowl, combine the apples and pears with the currants, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, honey and Cognac and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Spread the fruit in the skillet and scatter the topping over the fruit.
Bake the crisp in the center of the oven for about 45 minutes (for firmer fruit, start checking around 30 minutes), until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is browned. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving with ice cream.

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Stuffed Apple Dumpling

2/1/2016

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I had never heard of apple dumplings before until I moved to the Columbia River Gorge after college. There was a cute little place called Sage's Cafe that had the most amazing dessert that was like a self-packaged pie - my first exposure to apple dumplings.

I had all but forgotten about it after I had moved away until I happened to see my apple peeler-slicer-corer and fondant stamp cutters all on one table - and suddenly, there was a eureka moment in which I realized all of these can come together in one happy marriage. So I adapted my favorite apple pie recipe and added a few other fixings and voila - this is now my new favorite way to get my apple a day.

Stuffing

2/3 cup oats (rolled or instant)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries or raisins

Pie Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Everything Else

4 large apples (Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)
pie crust (enough for double-crust - more if you wish to add decorative pieces)
(optional) egg wash
a small bowl of water

Measure out the ingredients for the stuffing and mix in a bowl.
Make the pie sauce before peeling the apples so that the apples don't sit out too long and brown. Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat and stir in the flour and water. Then add the vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let simmer for a few minutes while stirring, then turn off the heat and leave the saucepan on the stove to remain warm.
While the pie dough is still in a ball, divide into four sections. Roll each section out (feel free to use any shape you want - square, triangle, circle - as long as it is roughly equilateral).
Core the apples. (You can also optionally peel and spiral-slice them.) Place one apple in the center of one of the rolled out dough sections. Fill the apple core with the stuffing - if you wish, you may also pile some around the base of the apple.
Spoon out approximately a quarter of the pie sauce onto the apple, letting it drip down the sides. Pool a larger spoonful over the center where the stuffing is.
Wrap the dough up around the apple. Use the bowl of water and wet the edges of the folded pieces of dough before pressing them closed to seal them. If you wish to add decorative bits of dough, you can also paste them on with the water.
Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the apple dumplings on a baking sheet. Prepare a heat shield using foil - it should cover all four dumplings at least halfway down their sides (you can also make 4 individual ones if you don't have large enough foil to cover all at once). If you wish to do an egg wash, brush it onto the crust now.
Leaving the dumplings uncovered for now, put them in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Turn the oven down to 350 F and cover the dumplings with the heat shield. Continue baking for another 25 minutes for firmer apples, 35 minutes for softer apples.
Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

To work with the apples, I like to use the Williams-Sonoma apple corer/slicer/peeler. Not only is it fast and easy, but having the apples spiral-sliced instead of just remaining one whole apple makes it easy to cut up after it's been baked, particularly if you like the apples on the firm side like I do.

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(Less-Sweet) Apple Pie

4/9/2015

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I love apple pies but find conventional recipes too sweet for me, so I adapted my favorite parts for something a little more to my taste. Thus far, it's met with the approval of all friends and family, even with the lower sugar content - it's now become something of a staple baked good for me now, particularly as the Fall season rolls around and my parents' little sour apple tree starts bearing fruit!

1 or 2 pastries for 9" double crust pie
1 deep-dish pie pan or 2 shallow pie pans
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
8 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, sliced
1 egg (optional)

This can make either 2 shallow pies or 1 deep dish pie. Adjust crust and apple preparations according to which number you are making.
Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly; they will soften and fall during baking. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir the corn starch in the water. Stir the corn starch-water mixture and flour into the saucepan to form a paste (it may seem clumpy at first but don't worry, after everything is mixed together it will even out). Add the vanilla, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce temperature and stir while simmering, making sure everything has become uniform.
Pour over the apples in the pie(s) - if you have two shallow pies, split the sauce evenly between them, if you have one deep-dish, use only about 2/3 of the sauce.
Cover the pies with the top pastry crust. Make sure there is adequate ventilation by either making slits or using a lattice pattern. Make an egg wash by mixing one egg with a little water and brushing over the crust.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then cover with foil to prevent the crust burning. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue baking for 30-40 minutes, until apples are soft.