Rustic Apple Pie Golden Delicious is a good choice of fruit for summer pies. Otherwise, wait till fall for autumn varieties such as Winesap, Macintosh and Cortland. No pie pan is needed for this rustic, free- form country pie.
Pie Pastry for a single 9" crust 6 cups (generous) pared apples, cut in wedges 1/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 2 tsp. lemon juice 2 Tbs. apple cider or frozen apple juice concentrate 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. apple pie spices or cloves 1 Tbs. flour 2 Tbs. corn starch 1 Tbs. unsalted butter - in bits milk or half-and-half for glazing Powdered sugar for dusting
Heat oven to 425. Double up two baking sheets and line the top one with parchment paper. Divide dough into portions (one larger (2/3) one smaller portion (1/3). On a well-floured board, roll the larger portion out to a 14" circle. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet.
In a large bowl, toss apples with brown sugar, white sugar, lemon juice, apple cider (or concentrate)<WBR>, cinnamon, apple pie spices (or cloves), flour and corn starch. Mound onto pie pastry, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry and top apples with it. Brush outer edge of top pastry with milk or water. Turn over pie pastry border (from bottom pastry) onto top to seal and make an edge or border. Press slightly with fingertips to seal.
Brush top of pie with milk or half-and-half. Bake 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake until apple juices begin to bubble out (35-45 minutes longer). Cool well. Using a large cardboard circle as an aid, transfer pie to serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar.
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