Day 8 Whole30 and I'm baking pies that I can't eat
If I ever question my own strength, I will think back to the day that I made this pie for my family without eating it. It's lovely. From what I'm told, it's the best pie that I've ever made. Tragically, I cannot taste it. However, luckily, I wrote down the recipe!
Notes:
1. You can cut your apple slices however you'd like them, but I find that slices of pie hold better with the long, lengthwise apple slices, rather than cut into cubes!
2. Slice your apples and let sit in all the goodness of the cinnamon sugar juices while you make your crust.
3. I make my own crust only because it's my favorite part of the process, but you can use a store bought one! I use the pie crust recipe from Leigh Anne Wilkes' blog, Your Home Based Mom, that I found a while back. Big fan!
Apple Bourbon Pie
prep time: 30 min
cook time: 50min
total time: 1hr, 20min
ingredients
pie crust
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed
1/2 cup crisco
2 teaspoon kosher salt
egg wash topping
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
filling
3 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
3 honey crisp apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon of bourbon
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 tablespoon arrow root starch
instructions
filling
1. Peel skin from apples and slice into thin slices.
2. In a large bowl mix apples, both sugars, vanilla, salt and spices until completely combined.
3. Pour 2T of bourbon over the mixture, then add tapioca starch and arrow root starch.
4. Let rest while you make your crust or pour immediately into a ready made crust.
pie crust
1. In a large bowl, add flour, salt, chunks of butter, and crisco.
2. Mix with your hands to incorporate ingredients, breaking apart the chunks of butter and shortening until the dough looks loose and pebbly. The largest chunk of butter or shortening you see should be the size of a pea.
3. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, still mixing your dough as you add each tablespoon. Be careful not to over-water! You want the dough to stick together but not be too wet or sticky. (It’s okay that you still have some butter chunks!)
4. Form the dough into a large ball, then cut in half.
5. Transfer from out the bowl to a sheet of plastic wrap, placing one of the dough balls in the middle of the sheet. Fold the plastic wrap in half over the dough and roll out with a rolling pin to about ¾ inch disk. It doesn’t have to be a perfect disk! The wrap will just keep your dough together and be the final solidifying step. Do so for both dough balls.
6. Wrap up tightly and place in the freezer for about 20-30 min to firm up.
7. Remove from the freezer and place on a large floured cutting board and roll out into a 15” or so disk.
8. Once it’s rolled out, roll the dough around the rolling pin like a scroll. Do so, by starting at the top. Hold the top of the dough and roll the pin towards yourself, wrapping the dough around it.
9. Take your scroll of dough and lay on the edge of 9” pie plate. Repeat the step above, but instead of rolling, unroll the dough over the top of the plate.
10. Let the dough sink down into the pie plate, don’t push it or stretch it into the bottom of the plate!
You can fold the excess dough around the edges of the plate underneath itself to crimp or create a design.
11. Poke the bottom of the pie with a fork about 6-8 times to allow steam to escape.
assembly
1. Pour apple mixture into the crust.
2. The second dough disk, you can roll out into into a 12in disk and place over the apples, crimping at the edges, and cutting 3 slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Or, you can try lattice work! Whatever, suits your fancy!
3. Finally, in a small bowl mix one egg and one tablespoon of water.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush over the top of the the pie. This will make sure you're pie is golden brown and beautiful!
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min, then cover with tin foil and bake for 10 more minutes.