Saucy Spiced Apple Pie Recipes

SPICED UPSIDE-DOWN APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Arrange pecans, with rounded sides facing down, on the bottom of a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar; press lightly., Roll out dough to fit the pie plate; place over brown sugar. Press the crust firmly against brown sugar and sides of pie plate. Trim edges., In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, pie spice and nutmeg. Add the apples, lemon juice and vanilla; toss to coat. Fill crust. Roll out remaining dough to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in crust., Place a foil-lined baking sheet on a rack below the pie to catch any spills. Bake pie at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown and apples are tender, 40-45 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm., PASTRY FOR DOUBLE CRUST PIE, Combine 21/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt; cut in 1 cup cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add 1/3=2/3 cup ice water, tossing with a fork until the dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

SPICED APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the filling: Cut the apples into 1/4-inch slices and place them in a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice to keep them from browning. Add the brown sugar, cornstarch, Warm Spice Blend, kosher salt and cinnamon and toss to combine. Mix in the boiled cider syrup and vanilla. Cover the mixture and let it sit at room temperature while you make the pie dough.
• For the pie dough: Add the flour, granulated sugar and kosher salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse to incorporate so that about three-quarters of the mixture is mealy and the rest has some slightly larger, pea-sized bits of butter. Combine the ice water and cider vinegar in a measuring cup. Drizzle the water and vinegar into the food processor and continue to pulse just until the mixture comes together to form a dough. If it seems dry or is having a hard time coming together, add a bit more water, a few drops at a time, until it comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and use your hands to press on any stray crumbs. Divide the dough in half, then divide one of the halves in half again so that you have 3 pieces of dough. Pat each piece into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to roll out for the pie.
• For the assembly: Flour a work surface and roll out the largest disc of dough into a circle just larger than 12 inches. Place it in a 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate. Roll out the 2 remaining dough discs to about 10 inches each. Cut the dough into 2-inch-wide strips for making a lattice top. Set the strips aside.
• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven (with a pizza stone if you have one) and preheat to 400 degrees F.
• Fill the pie crust with the apples (it will seem like a lot but they bake down!) and pour the juices over it. Distribute the butter over the top. Weave the dough strips together over and under to form a lattice crust over the top. Pinch the edges to seal, trim, fold the edges over and crimp. Give the edges a little hug to make sure they are sitting snugly on the rim of the pie plate; otherwise they could fall off in the oven. Freeze the pie for 15 minutes.
• Brush the lattice with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and flaky salt. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Serve the pie with large dollops of whipped cream.
• Layer the cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a medium glass jar and tighten the lid. Shake to combine. Keep on hand to add to your favorite desserts and beverages -- or just toast with butter!

SPICED APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Combine sugar, flour, butter, lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in a food processor.
• Process until well blended.
• Spread one-third of the sugar mixture over an unbaked pie crust.
• Arrange apple slices, in an overlapping pattern, on top of the sugar mixture.
• Top with the remaining sugar mixture.
• Bake on 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until crust is lightly browned.
• Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

REALLY EASY SPICED APPLE PIE WITH CRèME ANGLAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the chilled butter into chunks, each about the size of a sugar cube.
• Sift the flour into a bowl then add the sugar , cinnamon and the salt if you are using it. Add the butter chunks evenly over the surface of the flour.
• Using your thumb and forefingers, rub the butter into the flour (this is easier with smaller chunks of butter). Continue until the butter is all incorporated. The mix should resemble biscuit/bread crumbs when it is ready.
• Add the water a little at a time, mixing thoroughly with a good sized spoon. When the mix reaches a smooth (and slightly sticky) consistency (which should look like cookie-dough), shape it into a ball and wrap it in cling film. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
• When the dough is nearly chilled, start making the filling. Peel, de-core and cut the apples into orange-segment-sized wedges. Place them in cold water if you are leaving them for any length of time to prevent them from browning.
• Mix the water, muscavado and light-brown sugars, cinnamon, lemon juice (and nutmeg & cloves if being used) in a jug/bowl.
• Melt the butter on a medium-high heat in a deep pan. Put the apples in and stir gently for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the liquid mix to the pan, keeping the heat at medium-high. Keep gently folding the mixture for 5 minutes until the apples begin to look mushy/fluffy (as boiled and shaken potatoes do). The apples will break up to some degree during this process - this is perfectly fine. The apples should all be darkened in colour if you've done this bit right. Leave the filling to cool in the air for about 10 minutes. During this time the fruit will begin to congeal a little more.
• Take the dough from the fridge. Divide it into two balls and roll each one out into a disc, each slightly larger than the top of an 8" diameter pie dish (by about 1" all round). Use a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking; rubbing flour onto the rolling pin will also help. By rolling one way then the other, you can easily achieve a neat circle. I prefer to use my hands to shape and flatten the dough however.
• Rub butter onto the pie dish (including the up-facing lip/edge of the dish). Place the first dough-disc squarely into the dish - make sure it sits flat against the walls of the dish and that it covers the lip of the dish, with a little extra (which you will trim in a minute).
• It is time to add the filling now - but make sure you drain it well! Either sieve off the liquid or use a slotted spoon to remove as much liquid as possible - if the filling is too wet the pasty will not cook properly. You can keep the liquid to drink, warmed, as a delicious punch, or even use as a sauce if you don't like creamy/custard like sauces on your pie. If you refrigerate it this sauce will thicken up a bit.
• Next whisk up the egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Paint the mixture onto the lip of the pastry (using a pastry brush or your fingertips). This will glue the two halves together.
• Now place your other pastry disc on top of the pie. Using a sharp knife, cut down through the top of the pastry to remove the excess. Use the edge of the pie dish to guide your knife - the pastry should be flush with the edge of the dish.
• Using one or two fingers, work around the edge of the pie, crimping the pastry together. As well as adding an attractive fluted edge to the crust, this will help to glue the edges together.
• Cut a series of 3 or 4 slashes into the top of the pastry, ensuring you go right through. This will allow trapped air to escape and prevent the pastry from cracking open in an uncontrolled manner during cooking. If you have a pie-spout you can use this instead.
• Glaze the top of the pie with more of the egg glaze mix (don't feel that you must use all of it - you'll make the pasty soggy if you do!).
• Use a sieve to dust the top with the icing sugar and cinnamon.
• Place in a preheated oven, middle shelf at around 180 Celcius. Cook for around 30-40 minutes (fan assisted ovens will be quicker).
• When the top is browned and the pastry is firm all over take the dish from the oven and cool on a wire rack for around 20-30 minutes. DO NOT remove the pie from the dish until it has cooled as it will most likely disintegrate!
• To make the Crème Anglaise sauce, place the milk in a pan. Add the sugar and vanilla (if using vanilla pods, you can use the seeds from a pod, and or the pod itself. I have successfully used a pod which has been in a box of sugar for 3 months to make vanilla sugar and it worked perfectly). Heat gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the vanilla to infuse into the milk properly.
• In a jug/bowl, place the cornflour and add a little milk (roughly 1 tablespoon milk to 2 tablespoons of cornflour). Stir thoroughly until it forms a thick paste, adding a little more milk if necessary.
• Pour the mix into the milk pan, stirring it in thoroughly. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring continuously all the while. Be very careful and make sure you are using a non-stick pan here as the sauce can easily burn on the bottom. As soon as the sauce thickens to the consistency of custard/thick pureed soup, remove it from the heat. Continue to stir for a while to make sure the latent heat does not burn the sauce at the bottom of the pan.
• Pour liberally (hot or cold) onto hot or cold apple pie and enjoy!