Apple Pie Napoleon Recipes

APPLE NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar. Place pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture. Carefully roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out eight 3 inch squares, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with more parchment and another baking sheet. Chill in freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake pastry in oven until crisp and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove top parchment and baking sheet. Transfer, with bottom parchment, to a wire rack, and let cool.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Add apples; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add remaining cinnamon mixture. Cook until apples are tender but not falling apart. Let cool completely. To assemble, top the pastry with whipped cream then apples; repeat with another layer of each. Serve immediately.

APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon peel.
• Line one crust in a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Layer 1/3 of apples into pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar mixture and repeat until done. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.
• Place second pie crust on top of filling and flute the edges. Cut vents in top crust and brush with milk for a glazed appearance if desired.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 40 to 50 minutes.

APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, combine sugars, flour and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture; toss to coat. , On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim even with rim. Add filling; dot with butter. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Beat egg white until foamy; brush over crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edge loosely with foil. , Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil; bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

APPLE HASH NAPOLEON

Steps:

• Preheat convection oven to 275 degrees F.
• Cover a sheet pan with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Using a Japanese mandoline, julienne the apple into thin sticks, like potato sticks. Make little nests or haystacks of the sticks on the silpat, about 3 inches in diameter.
• Spatter the haystacks with melted clarified butter and douse with powdered sugar from a shaker. Bake in a convection oven until dry and crisp, about 60 to 75 minutes. Or use a fruit dehydrator to dry them out. Store them in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• To make the sauce, place the cider in a small saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Continue cooking until it becomes a thick golden syrup, about 1 hour. Let cool until ready to serve. You can refrigerate it if made the day before.
• To serve the dessert, place one apple hash on a dessert plate, top it with a scoop of ice cream, then carefully place another piece of hash on top as a lid. Press down gently. Spoon a "swoosh" of cider reduction on the plate and sprinkle the whole thing with powdered sugar.
• Put a large mixing bowl in the freezer to chill.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the half-and-half, cream, vanilla bean, and star anise to a simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn?t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
• In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer turn it off, do not let it boil!
• In a thin stream, whisk half of it into the egg yolk mixture. Then pour the egg-cream mixture into the saucepan containing the rest of the cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. At 160 degrees F, the mixture will give off a puff of steam. When the mixture reaches 180 degrees, it will be thickened and creamy, like eggnog. If you don?t have a thermometer, test it by dipping a wooden spoon into the mixture. Run your finger down the back of the spoon. If the stripe remains clear, the mixture is ready, if the edges blur, it is not quite thick enough yet. When it is ready, quickly remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, remove the bowl from the freezer, put 4 handfuls of ice cubes in the bottom, and add cold water to cover. Rest a smaller bowl in the ice water.
• Strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve to remove the vanilla bean pieces and star anise, into a smaller bowl. Stir in the homemade applesauce and chill 3 hours, then freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker.
• Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, "American Brasserie? by Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto, Julia Moskin, MacMillian, Publishers, 1997

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to 1/8-in. thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust even with rim., In a large saucepan, add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar, butter and 1/4-cup water. Gently stir, pulling edges towards center until mixture is is a deep golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat; immediately and gradually whisk in the cream until blended; add salt. Set aside., Toss apples and lemon juice in a large bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar, flour, apple pie spice, and bitters; toss with apples to coat., Layer 1/3 of the apples in bottom of crust, then spoon 1/3 of the caramel sauce in an even layer. Continue layering with half the remaining apples and caramel sauce. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel. With remaining dough create a lattice crust; place on top of apples., Brush top with egg; sprinkle with sugar and additional salt, if desired. Bake 20 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 325°, bake until golden brown and apples are tender, 25-35 minutes more. Cool completely. If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.