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Sierra Beauty Apple Pie

The success of a dessert as simple as apple pie depends on using perfect ingredients: tart, flavorful apples like Sierra Beauty, good buttery pie dough, and just enough sugar to bring out the flavor of the apples. You can always make a double-crusted pie, but for something different, try this one with its crumb topping.

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch pie

2 pounds Sierra Beauty or other crisp, tart apples
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons cool unsalted butter, cut in 1/4-inch pieces
  1. Step 1

    Roll out on a cool, lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick:
    One 10-ounce diskPie Dough

    Step 2

    Line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Trim the dough about 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the pan. Fold under the edge of the dough and crimp with a fork or use your thumb and finger to make a decorative edge. Refrigerate the dough in its pan.

    Step 3

    Position a rack in the middle level of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F in time to bake the pie. Quarter, peel, and core:
    2 pounds Sierra Beauty or other crisp, tart apples

    Step 4

    Slice the apples about 1/4 inch thick and put them in a large bowl. You should have about 6 cups. Sprinkle with:
    2 tablespoons granulated sugar

    Step 5

    Toss the apples and sugar together to mix well. Taste for sweetness and add a squeeze of lemon juice if the apples seem bland. Set apples aside while making the topping. Chop fine:
    1/2 cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans

    Step 6

    Mix with:
    1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

    Step 7

    Add:
    8 tablespoons cool unsalted butter, cut in 1/4-inch pieces

    Step 8

    Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers, a pastry blender, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Work just until the mixture comes together and has a crumbly, but not sandy, texture.

    Step 9

    (If you prefer to use a food processor, process the nuts with several tablespoons of the flour until chopped fine. Add the remaining dry ingredients and pulse to mix well. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture has the texture of very coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and finish working with your fingers until crumbly.)

    Step 10

    Pile the apples and accumulated juice into the refrigerated crust and smooth the top, leaving it slightly higher in the center. Cover with the topping, making sure no bits of apple show through.

    Step 11

    烤箱烤在中间水平的40分钟s. Test for doneness with a small sharp knife. If the knife goes in easily, the pie is ready. If not, continue baking until the fruit is tender and the topping is brown. Cover the pie loosely with foil if the crust and topping get too brown.

    Step 12

    Let the pie cool for about 1 hour before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

variations

• Add to the apples 1/3 cup dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, or apricots) soaked overnight in 2 tablespoons water or Cognac.
• Add 1/2 cup huckleberries to the apples before tossing with the sugar.
• To make a crisp instead of a pie, omit the dough, and add 1 tablespoon flour to the apples when tossing them with the sugar. Assemble and bake as above.

Reprinted with permission fromThe Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor, and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Gardenby Alice Waters. Copyright © 2013 by Alice Waters. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.ALICE WATERSis the owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café in Berkeley, California, and the founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project. She has received three James Beard awards and the IACP Lifetime Achievement award. Her most recent books are theNew York Timesbestsellers40 Years of Chez PanisseandThe Art of Simple Food,In the Green KitchenandThe Edible Schoolyard.
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  • This is amazing.

    • FattBoy

    • United States

    • 10/19/2014

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