I usually crave pumpkin pie this time of year, but sadly my husband doesn’t care for pumpkin flavored anything…but, luckily he does like apple pie with crumb topping. I haven’t made apple pie in years, and I’m not sure why. Hopefully this is worth the effort and mixing of two different recipes. I wanted the deep dish directions with a crumb topping and I had to improvise the baking time and technique.
Verdict: Pretty good, but I will continue to search for the perfect pie! I think I added too much lemon zest, but this definitely needed it. All that sweet needs the balance of citrus. I also am not a fan of making pie dough, but I used this recipe and it worked out well. It was buttery and flaky and easy to make. I need to practice rolling out pie dough – it’s such a pain! I have only done it one other time, so I guess I should give myself a break. Whenever the dough becomes too warm and starts to fall apart, put it in the fridge so the butter can firm up. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Deep Dish Apple Crumble Pie – adapted from The Galley Gourmet
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 1/2 to 5 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 8 – 10 medium), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Topping
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine sugars, salt, zest, juice and cinnamon. In a large dutch oven over high heat, melt the butter. Add the apples and toss until the apple slices are coated with butter. Reduce the heat to medium, cover tightly, and cook, stirring frequently until the apples are slightly softened, about 7-10 minutes. Add the sugar mixture and increase the heat to high. Cook the apples at a rapid boil, stirring frequently and gently until the juices become very thick and syrupy, about 7-10 minutes more. Immediately spread the apples in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature. Position a rack on the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 F.
Meanwhile, remove one disk of pastry to a lightly floured work sheet of parchment paper. For the bottom crust, roll out pastry to a 13-inch circle adding flour as needed. Transfer pastry to a baking sheet and refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Once firm, invert 13-inch bottom pastry into a deep 9-inch pie plate; peel off parchment paper. Ease pastry into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand and pressing into bottom edges of the pie plate with the other hand. Allow overhang to remain in place. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
Make crumb topping and set aside in the fridge. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, carefully take the pie out of the oven and pour on the crumb topping then bake for another 40 to 45 minutes. If the top appears to be browning too quickly the last 15 minutes, place a sheet of aluminum foil on top (do not wrap) to prevent over browning. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely, about 3 to 4 hours. To serve pie warm, reheat at 350º F for 15 minutes. Pie can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days.
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