Dan’s Apple Pie

From the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart

Yield

1 10-inch pie

Introduction

Rolling out a little pie dough builds character, and besides, it qualifies the cook for a larger-than-average piece of the pie! Your guests are going to want to hug you when they taste this. It’s especially appealing served with top-quality vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

Crust

	2½	cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting
	1	tsp. salt
	2	Tbsp. granulated sugar
	11	Tbsp. unsalted butter, very cold
	7	tablespoons, solid vegetable shortening, very cold
	⅓	cup very cold water, plus more as needed
	2	Tbsp. whipping cream

Filling

	2½ to 3	lb. apples crisp, tart (about 8 in total) such as Granny Smith or Pippin
	1	lemon, just the zest (minced), plus 2 tablespoons juice
	½	cup granulated sugar
	½	cup gently packed brown sugar
	¼	tsp. ground nutmeg
	1	tsp. ground cinnamon
	½	tsp. salt
	½	cup walnut pieces
	3	Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
	2	Tbsp. unsalted butter
	1	pt. vanilla ice cream (optional)

Steps

To make crust, place dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Cut butter and shortening into tablespoon-size pieces and place in workbowl. Use pulse button to blend until butter and shortening pieces are between size of peas and lima beans. Add the water and quickly process for a few seconds just until a ball of dough begins to form. Add 1 tablespoon water at a time if needed to form dough into a mass. Do not process after dough ball forms. Remove dough from workbowl, gathering all loose bits, and cut into 2 pieces. One piece should be larger, about two-thirds of total dough. Form each piece into a ball, flatten to about 1 inch thick, enclose in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or as long as overnight.
Position a rack in middle to lower third of oven, and preheat oven to 400°F. Have ready a 10-inch pie pan.
To make filling, peel and core apples. Cut into slices about ¼ inch thick, or slice with a food processor fitted with an 8-millimeter slicing disc. You need about 8 cups of slices. Place apple slices in a large mixing bowl and toss with remaining ingredients except butter. Let stand while you roll out dough.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out larger piece of dough to a circle about 13 inches in diameter. Dust work surface and dough with a little more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Dough will be very delicate, and its edges do not have to be perfectly smooth. Roll up dough circle around rolling pin, lift over pie plate, and unroll dough over plate, allowing it to settle into plate. Moisten dough with a little cold water to patch any holes or cracks.
Place apple mixture in pie plate. Cut 2 tablespoons butter into pea-size pieces and sprinkle over apples.
Roll out remaining piece of dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Roll dough around rolling pin as for larger circle, transfer to pie pan, and cover apple mixture. Use your thumbs or a fork to press dough layers together around rim of pie pan, then use a knife to trim off excess dough around pan. Cut 4 or 5 small slits in top crust so steam can escape during baking. Brush whipping cream evenly over top of pie and place pie in oven on a baking sheet or large piece of aluminum foil to catch drips.
Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F, and bake until top crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before cutting into wedges and serving. Accompany each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Notes

Pie is also wonderful topped with a slice of high-quality Cheddar such as Canadian Black Diamond or Tillamook Reserve.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart.