Spiced Apple Pie
Submitted by tnkrbelle
Spiced apple pie with cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and allspice in a flaky double crust dressed with pastry leaves. Bakery-quality dessert with deep autumn warmth.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
70 minREADY
90 minSpiced apple pie is the autumn dessert that puts the standard cinnamon-only pie to shame. Five warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, clove, and allspice) plus a touch of lemon zest give the apple filling a depth that tastes like the entire spice cabinet decided to throw a party. The double crust gets a decorative dressing of leaf-shaped pastry cutouts on top, brushed with milk and dusted with sugar for a bakery-counter finish.
The crust is half butter, half shortening, which is the smart compromise. Butter delivers the flavor, shortening delivers the structure and the genuinely flaky layers. Mace mixed into the crust is unusual and deliberate, perfuming the dough with the same warm note that runs through the filling.
Keep everything cold. Cold butter, cold shortening, ice water. The fat needs to stay solid until it hits the oven so it can melt into the pastry and create steam pockets. Warm fat blends into the flour and gives you tough, dense pastry instead of flaky.
The full pound and a half of tart green apples is what holds up to the long bake without turning to mush. Granny Smith is the classic choice. Mounding the filling in the center, rather than pressing it flat, gives the finished pie that gorgeous domed silhouette as the apples settle during baking.
Baking on the lowest oven rack is essential here. Direct heat on the bottom crust is what crisps it before the filling juices can soak in. Foil shields on the edges save you from over-browned crimping.
Pro Tips
- Refrigerate the dough at least an hour before rolling. Rested dough is easier to handle and shrinks less in the oven.
- Brush the underside of the leaf cutouts with milk so they stick to the top crust.
- Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any bubble-overs.
- Let the pie cool at least an hour before slicing for clean wedges. Hot apple pie collapses into a juicy mess.
Variations
- Stir a quarter cup of dried cranberries or raisins into the filling for chewy fruit pockets.
- Add a tablespoon of bourbon or apple brandy for a boozy holiday twist.
- Top warm slices with sharp cheddar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
Directions
For Crust: Combine flour, sugar, salt and mace in processor.
Using on/off turns, cut in chilled butter and vegetable shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Gradually blend in enough water by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps.
Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk.
Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
(Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling.)
For Filling: Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400~.
In large bowl, toss apples with ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon nutmeg, lemon peel, mace, cloves and allspice.
Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12 inch diameter round.
Transfer to 9 inch diameter deep-dish glass pie plate.
Trim dough overhang to ½ inch.
Brush edge of crust lightly with water. Transfer apple mixture to crust, mounding in center.
Roll out second dough disk to 12 inch diameter round.
Place atop apples.
Trim dough overhang to 1 inch; reserve scraps.
Fold top crust edge under bottom crust edge, pressing to seal.
Crimp edge decoratively.
Reroll pastry scraps and cut out leaf shapes.
Brush 1 side of each leaf with milk and arrange, milk side down, decoratively atop crust.
Cut several slits in crust to allow steam to escape.
Brush crust with milk; sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.
Place pie on baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, covering crust edges with aluminum foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Transfer pie to rack and cool.
Comments
