Apple Pie – Pay de manzana

As I mentioned in my previous post, an apple pie was the perfect ending for my Canadian Thanksgiving meal this year.  Apple pie is such a delightful dessert, that it may be found in many countries around the world.  For this recipe, I used two batches of my Basic Pie Crust Dough, one cup of my Apple Filling, as well as fresh apples.  

Apple Pie – Pay de manzana 

Printable recipe: Apple Filling

Printable recipe: Basic Pie Crust Dough

Printable recipe:  Apple Pie

Ingredients (for one 9-inch mould)

4-5 apples, such as Spartan, Golden Delicious, or Gala; washed
4 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup apple filling; from can, or for homemade:
    3 medium apples, any variety
    ½ cup water
    ½ cup granulated sugar
    1 tbsp lemon juice
    ½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 batches pie crust dough; store bought, or for homemade:
   2 cups flour
   1 tsp baking powder
   1 cup butter
   2 eggs
   2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup milk, for brushing, optional

If preparing apple filling – Peel, core, and chop three apples (approx. 2 cups); place chopped apples and water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for ten minutes. Uncover, add sugar and stir in (photo below, left). Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about fifteen minutes, until almost all the liquid has evaporated (photo, below, right):

Add cinnamon and lemon juice (photo below, left), and continue cooking and stirring for another two to three minutes, until the bottom of the pan looks clean when fruit filling is pushed with the back of the spoon (photo below, right):

Remove from heat and allow to cool down to room temperature.

If making two batches of basic pie crust dough – Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl; cut butter in the flour mix with a wooden spatula (photo below, left), and rub with fingers until a sandy texture is reached. Make an opening in the centre, and add egg and sugar (photo below, right): 

Incorporate everything together (photo below, left), then knead with hands into a soft dough (photo, right):

Assemble pie – Transfer dough to a lightly floured working surface, then divide into halves:

Reserve one piece, then roll the other into a circle of approximately eleven inches in diameter (photo below, left).  Fold circle over rolling pin, rolling onto it (photo below, right):

Place rolling pin with dough on top of a 9-inch round mould, then unroll dough to fit the mould (photo below, left).  Press around to shape the dough centred into the mould, flattening dough on the rim of the mould.  Press down, and prick edge at the bottom of the mould with a toothpick, to allow air to escape (photo below, right):

Peel, core, and chop the fresh apples.  Immediately mix with the cooled apple filling, so they will not turn brown, then transfer to the prepared pie mould with the bottom crust (photo below, left).  Sprinkle with two tablespoons of sugar (photo below, right):

Roll the second piece of dough, then cut into ribbons, about one inch wide (photo below, left).  Place several ribbons parallel to each other on the pie, leaving a gap between them, then start weaving more ribbons, perpendicularly, to form a lattice (photo below, right):

Brush lattice with milk (if using, photo below, left), then sprinkle with two tablespoons of sugar (photo below, right):

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), and bake pie for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway for even browning.  Remove from oven, and allow to cool down completely to room temperature:

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FUN FACTS – Although apples (Malus domestica) grow pretty much everywhere in the world, their origin may be pinpointed to a very specific area in Central Asia, a great part in what is today the country of Kazakhstan, a former republic of the Soviet Union.  Their ancestor is Malus sieversii, found growing wild on the mountain slopes, where forests of these trees intertwine with screes and steppes.  Michael Pollan, in his book The Botany of Desire imagines the wild apple tree forests as incredibly fragrant, becoming a gallery of colours from greens, to yellows and reds when the fruit drops, crashing on the forest floor.  Apples are not true to seed, meaning that when grown from seed, they will have different characteristics from the fruit of the parent tree; that is why there are thousands of apple varieties around the world, and also it is why desirable varieties are propagated by grafting.  Spaniards brought the apple to their American colonies, and in Mexico, the cool weather in highlands of Puebla in Central Mexico, and Chihuahua, in Northern Mexico, are the top national producers of apples.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #663 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am also sharing my post at Thursday Favourite Things #631, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

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I am joining Fiesta Friday #507  with Angie @ Fiesta Friday, this week co-hosting with Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

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I am sharing my recipe at What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #442 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.