Dutch Apple Pie (Or Crisp)

Source: Cook’s Illustrated Nov. and Dec. 2000

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 1½ ounces All Purpose Flour
• 1 Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 4 Shortening, chilled at least 30 min.
• 4 Unsalted Butter, Chilled, Cut Into ¼ Inch Pieces
• 4 Ice Water

Apple Filling

• 2½ medium Granny Smith Apples
• 2 medium McIntosh Apples
• ¼ cup Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon Salt
• 2 Unsalted Butter
• ¾ cups Golden Raisins, Optional
• ½ cup Heavy Cream

Streusel Topping

• 1¼ ounces Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Cornmeal
• 7 Unsalted Butter, Melted

Method

The pie crust recipe is a very complicated description in the magazine. Most important seems to be the following:

Apple filling: Peel, quarter, and core apples; slice each quarter crosswise into pieces ¼ inch thick. Toss apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl to combine. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over high heat until foaming subsides; add apples and toss to coat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in raisins; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until Granny Smith apple slices are tender and McIntosh apple slices are softened and beginning to breakdown, about 5 minutes longer. (Or more!)

Set large colander over large bowl; transfer cooked apples to colander. Shake colander and toss apples to drain off as much juice as possible. Bring drained juice and cream to boil in now empty Dutch oven over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and wooden spoon leaves trail in mixture, about 5 minutes. Transfer apples to prebaked pie shell; pour reduced juice mixture over and smooth with rubber spatula.

Streusel topping:

Combine flour, sugars and cornmeal in medium bowl; drizzle with melted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms many large chunks with pea-sized pieces mixed throughout. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread streusel in even layer on baking sheet. Bake streusel until golden brown, about 5 minutes; cool baking sheet with streusel on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle streusel evenly over pie filling. Set pie plate on now-empty baking sheet and bake until streusel topping is deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack and serve.

Quick Apple Crisp

Follow recipe for Dutch Apple Pie, omitting pie dough. Pack cooked apples into 8-inch square baking dish and pour reduced juice mixture over. Continue as for pie - see above for “Streusel topping”.