Apple Pie with Carmody Crust
Recipe courtesy of Brigid Callinan.
“An apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a hug and a squeeze!” Carmody is so delicious with fruit, especially apples; we couldn’t resist adding it to our favorite apple pie recipe. Pink Lady apples make a delicious pie—they are firm, dense and pleasingly tart. If you can’t find Pink Ladies, Granny Smiths work well, too. Adjust the sugar in the filling to your taste and apple selection.
“An apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a hug and a squeeze!” Carmody is so delicious with fruit, especially apples; we couldn’t resist adding it to our favorite apple pie recipe. Pink Lady apples make a delicious pie—they are firm, dense and pleasingly tart. If you can’t find Pink Ladies, Granny Smiths work well, too. Adjust the sugar in the filling to your taste and apple selection.
Makes one 9-inch pie, serves 8-10
Crust:
For the crust:
Ccombine the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter intact. Break the shortening into pieces and rub it into the flour mixture until it is incorporated. Add the Carmody and toss it until the mixture is uniform. Drizzle 8 tablespoons of water the water around the flour mixture and mix lightly with your hands until the dough will hold together when pressed. If the dough remains crumbly, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it holds together. Divide the dough into two pieces and press each piece into a ball. Wrap the dough balls in plastic and press them into disks, smoothing any cracks with your fingers. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll.
For the filling:
Peel, core and cut the apples into ¼-inch thick slices. Place the apples in a large bowl and add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar to taste, cornstarch and kosher salt. Stir until the apples are uniformly coated with starch, lemon juice and seasonings and allow the apple mixture to sit until the apples have given off their juices, about 10-15 minutes. Strain the juices into a small saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk, until the mixture has thickened. With a rubber spatula, scrape the thickened apple juice back into the bowl with the apple mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water and set aside. On a floured surface, roll one of the dough disks out to a circle about 1 inch larger than the 9-inch pie pan. To check the size, place the pie pan upside down in the center of the dough circle; the dough should extend about an inch past the edge of the upturned pan. Place the dough circle into the pie pan and brush the edge with the egg mixture. Reserve the egg mixture for the top of the pie. Place the apple mixture into the pan and even it out. Roll the second dough disk to the same size and place it atop the apple filling. Press the top crust onto the bottom where it was brushed with egg to seal it. Trim the edges of the dough if necessary with a kitchen scissors so the dough extends no more than an inch past the edge of the pan. Roll the dough ends under to form a smooth edge, then flute the edge with your fingers, making sure the edge of the dough is supported by the pan and doesn’t go past the pan’s edge. Cut 3 or 4 vent holes in the top crust with the scissors or a sharp paring knife. Bake the pie for 35 minutes on the lowest oven shelf (if you have an electric oven you might want to go up a shelf to avoid burning the bottom). Remove the pie from the oven and brush the top crust all over with the egg mixture and sprinkle the crust with sugar as desired. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, until the apple filling is bubbly and crust is deep golden brown. Allow the pie to cool at least one hour before serving.
Crust:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ cups Bellwether Farms Carmody, grated
- 8-12 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 large or 8 small/medium tart apples; we like the Pink Lady variety for pies
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾-1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the crust:
Ccombine the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter intact. Break the shortening into pieces and rub it into the flour mixture until it is incorporated. Add the Carmody and toss it until the mixture is uniform. Drizzle 8 tablespoons of water the water around the flour mixture and mix lightly with your hands until the dough will hold together when pressed. If the dough remains crumbly, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it holds together. Divide the dough into two pieces and press each piece into a ball. Wrap the dough balls in plastic and press them into disks, smoothing any cracks with your fingers. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll.
For the filling:
Peel, core and cut the apples into ¼-inch thick slices. Place the apples in a large bowl and add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar to taste, cornstarch and kosher salt. Stir until the apples are uniformly coated with starch, lemon juice and seasonings and allow the apple mixture to sit until the apples have given off their juices, about 10-15 minutes. Strain the juices into a small saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk, until the mixture has thickened. With a rubber spatula, scrape the thickened apple juice back into the bowl with the apple mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water and set aside. On a floured surface, roll one of the dough disks out to a circle about 1 inch larger than the 9-inch pie pan. To check the size, place the pie pan upside down in the center of the dough circle; the dough should extend about an inch past the edge of the upturned pan. Place the dough circle into the pie pan and brush the edge with the egg mixture. Reserve the egg mixture for the top of the pie. Place the apple mixture into the pan and even it out. Roll the second dough disk to the same size and place it atop the apple filling. Press the top crust onto the bottom where it was brushed with egg to seal it. Trim the edges of the dough if necessary with a kitchen scissors so the dough extends no more than an inch past the edge of the pan. Roll the dough ends under to form a smooth edge, then flute the edge with your fingers, making sure the edge of the dough is supported by the pan and doesn’t go past the pan’s edge. Cut 3 or 4 vent holes in the top crust with the scissors or a sharp paring knife. Bake the pie for 35 minutes on the lowest oven shelf (if you have an electric oven you might want to go up a shelf to avoid burning the bottom). Remove the pie from the oven and brush the top crust all over with the egg mixture and sprinkle the crust with sugar as desired. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, until the apple filling is bubbly and crust is deep golden brown. Allow the pie to cool at least one hour before serving.