Apple Ginger Pie With Walnut Pastry Recipes

DEEP-DISH GINGER-APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix 3 1/4 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1 3/4 cups butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry leaves side of bowl (2 to 3 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
• On lightly floured surface, gather pastry into a ball. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable.
• Heat oven to 425°F. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 pastry round, using floured rolling pin, into round 3 inches larger than upside-down 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate. Fold pastry into quarters; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry. Refrigerate until ready to fill.
• In large bowl, mix 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the ginger, cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until coated. Spoon filling into crust-lined plate. Dot with 1/4 cup butter. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.
• Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch round. Fold pastry into quarters. Unfold pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing rim to seal; flute as desired. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut slits in top crust.
• Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until crust is brown and apples are tender. Serve warm or cool.

CANDIED GINGER APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the pastry blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles fine gravel. Add 1/4 cup ice water a few tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Remove from the food processor, divide in two and form each piece into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
• For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cornstarch, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla bean paste and salt.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and remove one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator. If necessary, leave to soften for 10 minutes or so. On a floured surface, roll out the disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and gently press into place, eliminating any air pockets. Trim the dough overhang to 1/2 inch.
• On a floured surface, roll the second disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the apple filling to the dough-lined dish. On top of the filling, add the second crust, allowing each to overhang by 1/2 inch. Fold the top crust edges over the overhang of the bottom crust and crimp the edges to seal. Cut six slits into the top crust.
• Beat the egg with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Using a pastry brush, lightly paint the crust with the egg. Using aluminum foil, make a "collar" around the edges of the pie to prevent it from browning too quickly.
• Bake 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 1 hour. (Remove the foil collar for the last 10 to 15 minutes.)
• Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely.
• Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.