Buxton Hall Ultimate Apple Pie Recipes

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare the Flaky Pie Dough: Line a small metal or plastic bowl with aluminum foil. Place 6 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan; cook over medium, stirring constantly, until butter begins to turn golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately pour butter into prepared bowl. Freeze until butter has solidified, about 1 hour. Lift foil from bowl; remove foil from butter, and cut into small pieces.
• Stir together flours and salt in a medium bowl. Sprinkle browned butter pieces and cold butter pieces over flour mixture. (Do not mix into flour.) Place bowl in freezer 10 minutes.
• Remove from freezer. Using your hands, pinch and smear butter pieces into the flour mixture to evenly distribute. (Return bowl to freezer for 10 minutes if butters begin to soften.)
• Add 1⁄2 cup cold buttermilk, and stir just until dough begins to come together, stirring in more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Dough should be dry and formed into a mass; pieces of butter should be visible.
• Divide dough in half. Press each half into a round, flat disk; wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and unwrap. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure dough is evenly draped with no stretching or pockets. Place pie plate in refrigerator.
• Remove remaining dough disk from refrigerator and unwrap. Roll dough to 1⁄8-inch thickness on lightly floured parchment paper. Cut into about 8 (1-inch-wide) strips. Transfer dough strips, with parchment paper, onto a large plate or baking sheet, and chill until ready.
• Prepare the Filling: Stir together apple slices, dried apples, butter, and apple butter in a large skillet. Cook apple mixture over medium-high, stirring often, until apples are tender-crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, orange zest, grated ginger, and vanilla. Gently stir to combine. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom over apple mixture, and gently stir to combine. Sprinkle with brown sugar, flour, and salt, and gently stir to combine.
• Spoon Filling into chilled pie shell. Arrange dough strips in a lattice pattern on top. Trim excess dough, and discard. Press edges with a fork or crimp by pinching with your fingers to make a decorative pattern. Freeze 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425ºF. Brush crust with beaten egg, and sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake until Filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown, about 45 more minutes. Cover pie with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Let cool completely (4 to 6 hours) before slicing.

MISS HATTIE'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
• Shred the apples into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Mix well and place in bottom crust. Dot the top with 3 tablespoons butter.
• On a cutting board, place rolled out (or packaged) pie crust. With a leaf or apple cookie cutter, cut shapes from the pie crust. Position the cutouts all over the top of the pie, leaving small spaces between cutouts for the vent holes.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove pie from oven and brush with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Place a piece of aluminum foil under the pan in case it boils over.

BETH HOWARD'S APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In a deep bowl, work the butter and shortening into the flour and salt with your hands until you see marble-sized lumps form. Think mixed nuts, but no bigger than almonds. Add ice water a little at a time, sort of "fluffing" the flour. Keep your movements light, as if you are tossing dressing into a salad with your hands. When the dough feels moistened enough, do a "squeeze test" and when it holds together you're done. Do not overwork the dough! It takes very little time and you'll be tempted to keep touching it, but don't! Now divide the dough in half, form each half into a disk shape and roll flat and thin to fit your pie dish. Sprinkle flour under and on top of your dough, and keep rolling surface and pin free from gunk to keep dough from sticking. Trim excess crust to about 1 inch from the dish edge with a scissors., Slice half of the apples directly into the pie, arranging to remove extra space between slices. Cover with half of your other ingredients (sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt), then slice the remaining apples and cover with second half of ingredients. Add dollop of butter on top, cover with top crust, seal and crimp edges, then brush with beaten egg (this gives the pie a nice golden brown shine; be careful not to let egg pool in crevices.) Use a knife to poke vent holes in the top (get creative here with a pattern), then bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Turn oven down to 375 degrees and bake for another 30-40 minutes until juice bubbles. Keep an eye on it as it bakes. If it gets too brown, turn down the temperature. To be sure it's done, poke with a knife to make sure apples have softened. Do not overbake or apples will turn mushy.

BUXTON HALL ULTIMATE APPLE PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare the Flaky Pie dough: Line a small metal or plastic bowl with aluminum foil. Place 6 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan; cook over medium, stirring constantly, until butter begins to turn golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately pour butter into prepared bowl. Freeze until butter has solidified, about 1 hour. Lift foil from bowl; remove foil from butter, and cut into small pieces. Stir together flours and salt in a medium bowl. Sprinkle browned butter pieces and cold butter pieces over flour mixture. (Do not mix into flour.) Place bowl in freezer 10 minutes. Remove from freezer. Using your hands, pinch and smear butter pieces into the flour mixture to evenly distribute. (Return bowl to freezer for 10 minutes if butters begin to soften.) Add 1/2 cup cold buttermilk, and stir just until dough begins to come together, stirring in more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Dough should be dry and formed into a mass; pieces of butter should be visible. Divide dough in half. Press each half into a round, flat disk; wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour. Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and unwrap. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure dough is evenly draped with no stretching or pockets. Place pie plate in refrigerator. Remove remaining dough disk from refrigerator and unwrap. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured parchment paper. Cut into about 8 (1-inch-wide) strips. Transfer dough strips, with parchment paper, onto a large plate or baking sheet, and chill until ready. Prepare the Filling: Stir together apple slices, dried apples, butter, and apple butter in a large skillet. Cook apple mixture over medium-high, stirring often, until apples are tender-crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, orange zest, grated ginger, and vanilla. Gently stir to combine. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom over apple mixture, and gently stir to combine. Sprinkle with brown sugar, flour, and salt, and gently stir to combine. Spoon Filling into chilled pie shell. Arrange dough strips in a lattice pattern on top. Trim excess dough, and discard. Press edges with a fork or crimp by pinching with your fingers to make a decorative pattern. Freeze 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. Brush crust with beaten egg, and sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350, and bake until Filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown, about 45 more minutes. Cover pie with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to prevent over-browning. Let cool completely (4 to 6 hours) before slicing.

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.
• For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min - it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it's beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins. Now mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.
• After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin - 20-22cm round and 4cm deep - leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.
• Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
• Grease pastry dish and line with pastry. I use a round ceramic flan.
• Combine all filling ingredients and put into dish.
• Cut the second sheet of pastry into strips and place in a lattice pattern on top.
• Bake at 220°C for 40 minutes.
• Combine the glaze ingredients adjusting to spreadable consistency. Brush over the top of the pastry, return to the oven for 10 minutes.
• Optionally serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.