Apple Cookbook (17 page)

I love the rustic look of this pie, and I like how fast it is to make. And it’s faster still if I opt to use frozen puff or phyllo pastry. The flavorings are very basic; if you like, you can add ½ teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and ginger. Or replace the allspice with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Or add grated orange or lemon zest
.

3 medium apples (McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Empire, Gala)

¼ cup raisins

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground allspice

pastry for a single 9-inch piecrust (pages 114–116)

milk

sugar

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a large baking sheet.

2
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices.

3
. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the apples with the raisins, honey, and allspice.

4
. Roll out the pastry to a circle approximately 10 inches in diameter.

5
. Spoon the apple mixture over half the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the other half over the apples, moisten the edges with milk, and seal. Crimp the edges with the tines or the handle of a fork.

6
. Place on the baking sheet, brush with milk, and sprinkle with sugar.

7
. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with English Custard Sauce (page 152) or heavy cream.

Yield: 2 servings

This is really a single-crust tart, but using mozzarella as a cheese base makes it more like a pizza — a special sweet pizza
.

pastry for a single piecrust (pages 113–116)

5 large apples (Winesap, Rome Beauty, Fuji, Jonagold)

½ cup grated Cheddar, mozzarella, or Swiss cheese

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan.

2
. Roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle and place in the greased pizza pan. Form a rim around the edges.

3
. Bake for 10 minutes.

4
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices. Arrange on the pizza crust and sprinkle with the Cheddar.

5
. Mix the sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle on top of the cheese.

6
. Cut the butter into small pieces and dot over the top.

7
. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Serve hot.

Yield: 8 servings

The simplest way to make turnovers is to use frozen puff pastry or a package of pastry crusts. However, homemade pastry is easy to make and is superior to most commercial pastry dough
.

4 medium apples (McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Gala, Ginger Gold)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

pastry for a double piecrust (pages 113–115)

milk

1
. Grease a large baking sheet.

2
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices. Place in a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice.

3
. Cut the butter into small pieces; add to the apple slices.

4
. Mix the sugar and cornstarch. Stir into the apple mixture.

5
. Divide the pastry into 8 equal parts and roll into 6- or 7-inch squares.

6
. Spoon the filling onto the center of each square. Brush the edges with milk and fold over to make a triangle.

7
. Press the edges together to seal and crimp with the tines of a fork. Using a sharp knife, make a steam vent in the middle of each. Place on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

8
. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.

9
. Brush the turnovers with milk and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet and serve warm or cold.

Yield: 8 turnovers

Louise Salinger of Salinger’s Orchard is a superb cook who loves to bake. You’ll find more of her recipes elsewhere in this book
.

2
³
/
₄
cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (1¼ sticks) butter

¼ cup milk

1 egg

8 medium apples (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Braeburn)

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup cereal flakes, e.g., cornflakes

milk, for brushing the pastry

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1
. In a medium-sized bowl, cut the butter into the flour with two knives or a pastry blender, or in a food processor.

2
. Beat the milk and egg, then mix with the flour mixture to form a firm dough. Divide into 2 pieces and refrigerate.

3
. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 15½-inch jelly-roll pan.

4
. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples into a medium-sized bowl. Mix with the granulated sugar and the cinnamon.

5
. Roll out half of the dough to fit the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with the cereal flakes to within ½ inch of the edges.

6
. Spoon the apple mixture on top of the flakes.

7
. Roll out the remaining dough and place over the apples. Seal the edges by pinching together. Brush the pastry with a little milk.

8
. Bake for 1 hour. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

9
. While the pastry is still slightly warm, combine the confectioners’ sugar, water, and vanilla. Spread over the pastry. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: 20 servings

Although not as richly flavored as a crust made with all butter, pastry made with vegetable shortening is more tender. This is one of the most basic pastry doughs to make for piecrusts
.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup vegetable shortening

3 tablespoons sugar (optional for sweet pastry)

½ cup ice water

beaten egg white or jam or jelly*

beaten egg or milk

sugar (optional)

*Note:
If the jam is too solid or too cold to spread, melt it first, but cool before brushing onto the pastry.

1
. Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the shortening with 2 knives or a pastry blender, or in a food processor, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Add sugar, if desired.)

2
. Using a fork, stir in the water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Too much water or overmixing will make the crust tough.

3
. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and flatten into 6-inch circles. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4
. Roll out the pastry to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Loosely fold the circle in half, fit into a buttered pie plate (butter browns and crisps the pastry more than shortening), and trim, leaving a 1-inch overhang.

5
. Brush the crust with beaten egg white to help prevent the bottom from becoming soggy. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

6
. Roll out the second piece of dough. Carefully lift the pastry and place over the filling. Trim, if necessary. Seal to the bottom crust. Flute the edges, cut two or three steam vents in the center, and brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake according to the recipe directions.

Yield: Two 10-inch piecrusts, 8 dumplings, or twelve 6-inch turnovers

A really good basic pastry for piecrusts, this is called short pastry because of its high ratio of shortening to flour. If you substitute stick margarine for the shortening, work fast and handle the pastry only when necessary because margarine softens quickly
.

2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons vegetable shortening

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sugar (optional for sweet pastry)

6 tablespoons ice water beaten egg white or jam or jelly*

beaten egg or milk

sugar (optional)

*Note:
If the jam is too solid or cold to spread, melt it first, but cool before brushing onto the pastry.

1
. Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter with two knives or a pastry blender, or in a food processor, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Add the sugar, if desired.)

2
. Using a fork, stir in the water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Too much water or overmixing will make the crust tough.

3
. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and flatten into 6-inch circles. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4
. Roll out the pastry to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Loosely fold the circle in half, fit into a buttered pie plate, and trim, leaving a 1-inch overhang.

5
. Brush the crust with a beaten egg white to help prevent the bottom from becoming soggy. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

6
. Roll out the second piece of dough. Carefully lift the pastry and place over the filling. Trim, if necessary. Seal to the bottom crust. Flute the edges, cut two or three steam vents in the center, and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake according to the recipe directions.

Yield: Two 9-inch piecrusts, 6 dumplings, or eight to ten 6-inch turnovers

Use this pastry for a change when making a plain apple pie, apple turnovers, or dumplings
.

2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

1/3–½ cup ice water

beaten egg white or jam or jelly*

beaten egg or milk

sugar (optional)

*Note:
If the jam is too solid or too cold to spread, melt it first, but cool before brushing onto the pastry.

1
. Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl and cut in the shortening with two knives or a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. Stir in the Cheddar with a fork.

2
. Using a fork, stir in the water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Too much water or overmixing will make the crust tough.

3
. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and flatten into 6-inch circles. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4
. Roll out the pastry to a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Loosely fold the circle in half, fit into a buttered pie plate, and trim, leaving a 1-inch overhang.

5
. Brush the crust with a beaten egg white to help prevent the bottom from becoming soggy. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

6
. Roll out the second piece of dough. Carefully lift the pastry and place over the filling. Trim, if necessary. Seal to the bottom crust. Flute the edges, cut two or three steam vents in the center, and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake according to the recipe directions.

Yield: Two 9-inch piecrusts, 6 dumplings, or eight to ten 6-inch turnovers

This is deliciously like shortbread cookies — rich and buttery
.

1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

¼ cup ice water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1
. Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl and cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry blender, or in a food processor. (Add the sugar, if desired.)

2
. Using a fork, stir in the water and lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time. When a ball forms, stop adding water, flatten, wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3
. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a 12-inch circle, fold in half, and fit into the pie plate.

4
. Trim so that a 1-inch overhang remains, turn under, pinch, and flute. Refrigerate until ready to use.

5
. To bake an unfilled pie shell, prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork to allow air to escape during baking. Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes (prebaked) or 20 minutes (fully baked).

Yield: 1 crust or 12 small tart shells

Substitute 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour for ½ cup all-purpose flour, and add a
drop
more water, if necessary.