Crabapple Pie

I couldn’t let this month of apples go by without telling you that I have finally figured out why people get excited about crabapples.  For 15 years I had a huge, out of control, crabapple tree in my yard that caused me nothing but grief.  The only time I liked it was during the one week a year it gave me beautiful pink blooms that blew in front of my kitchen window in the spring and made me happy.

As I helped a friend move a few weeks ago she said, let all the kids go pick crabapples!  I truly thought I would just take some of the hideous fruit and throw it away when I got home.  As three girls picked two home depot buckets full of crabapples I looked upon these beautifully dark red little crabapples and thought, these are not crabapples.  Lo and behold, they were the crabapple that everyone else gets excited about.  Who knew there was more than one type of crabapple?!

My friend’s tree is a Dolgo Crabapple and it produces tart little apples that are a delight to work with.  Her husband invented his own corer that made coring these apples fun and fast!

I followed this recipe to make this beautiful pie.  It’s quite tart but so delicious!  Even though I have made many pies (like this one and this one) and just as many pie crusts (like this one and this one), this pie crust was the best I’ve ever made by far!

 

Crabapple Pie

slightly modified from mainetoday.com

serves 6 to 8

 

Pie Crust

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

heaping t. of sugar

1 c. cold butter, cut into chunks

4 T. butter flavored shortening, cut onto chunks

1/2 c. ice-cold water

 

Crabapple filling

6 c. cored crabapples (not peeled)

1 c. sugar

1 T. flour

1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar

3 T. butter (cut into 1 T. pats)

1/4 c. dark brown sugar

 

milk and turbinado sugar for topping the pie

Making the crust

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a  food processor and pulse several times to mix.  Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the fats are about the size of a dime.  While processing continually pour in the ice-cold water until the dough forms a ball.  Place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead until the dough completely comes together without over kneading.  Cut the dough into two equally sized pieces, form into a ball, slightly flatten and wrap each disk with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for about an hour.

Making the filling and prepping the pie

Right before you are ready to pull the dough out of the refrigerator, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine the crabapples, white sugar, flour and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Set aside.

Roll out the first piece of dough until about a 1/4 inch thick, roll the dough onto the rolling pin and then lay the dough into a pie dish.  Pour the crabapple mixture into the bottom crust and place the butter and brown sugar on top of the mixture.  Roll out the top crust of dough in the same manner and after rolling the crust onto the rolling pin gently place this top crust on the pie.

Trim the edges to about 1 inch over the edge of the pie dish and then crimp the edges together.  Cut several slits in the top crust to allow the pie’s heat to vent during baking.  Brush with milk and generously sprinkle the top of the pie with turbinado sugar.

Place on a baking sheet and bake at 45o degrees for 15 minutes and then turn down the oven to 375 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes or until the filling is bubbling through the vents.

Let cool completely before serving.

 

Posted on September 18, 2016
This entry was posted in baking, brunch, desserts, pies and tagged crabapples, dolgo, pie, tart pie.