Recipe by Cheryl Bater, Dublin, Ohio
First place, Baked Pies (Apple) 2017
Baking temperature: 400, 375 degrees
Baking time: 15 minutes, 40-50 minutes
Yield: One 9-inch pie
Ingredients
Filling:
- 7 c peeled, cored and sliced Granny Smith and Braeburn apples
- ½ c packed light brown sugar
- 1 T lemon juice
- 2 T granulated sugar
- 1 ½ T clear gel
- ½ t ground cinnamon
- ½ t vanilla extract
- Seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean pod
- 1 ½ T apple butter
- 1/3 c chopped pecans
- 1 ½ T unsalted butter cut into pieces
Crust:
- 2 ½ c flour
- ½ c unsalted butter
- ½ c Leaf lard
- ¾ t salt
- 6 T water
- 1 T vodka
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- Egg white to brush on bottom crust
- 1 egg and 1 T milk to brush on top crust
- Sanding sugar to sprinkle on top of crust
Instructions
- Combine apples, brown sugar and lemon juice. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to juice.
- In a small bowl, mix granulated sugar, clear gel, cinnamon, and vanillas
- Combine with apples, mix well
- Add apple butter and pecans
- Brush bottom crust with egg white
- Scrape filling into chilled pie shell. Dot with butter and cover with top crust
- Brush top crust with egg and whipping cream mixture, then dust with sanding sugar
- Cover crust with pie shield
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is thick and bubbly
- Combine flour, sugar, salt in large mixing bowl
- With pastry blender, cut butter and lard into dry ingredients until pieces are pea-sized or slightly smaller
- In small bowl, whisk egg yolk, vodka and ice water
- Add egg-water mixture to dry ingredients tossing with a pastry fork to blend
- Form into two dough discs- 2/3 dough and 1/3 dough
- Wrap in wax paper and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour
To prepare pie shell:
- On floured surface, roll out larger disc of dough into 10-inch circle
- Transfer dough to pie pan, trim edges and chill
- Roll out 1/3 portion disc into 10-inch circle. Cut decorative cut outs as desired
- Turn filling into chilled pie shell and smooth the fruit with a spoon
- Dot the top with butter. Lightly moisten the rim of pie shell
- Invert the top pastry center of the filling
- Press the top and bottom pastries together along dampened edge
- Trim the pastry, leaving an even ½ inch overhang all around, then sculpt
- Poke several steam vents, brush crust with egg/milk mixture then sprinkle with sanding sugar