Honeycrisp Apple Pie Recipes

OUR FAVORITE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Add butter and pulse until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add vinegar and 1/4 cup ice water and process until the dough just holds together, about 30 seconds. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers and if it is very crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum). Do not over process.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push together into a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then divide into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc with smooth edges (no cracks), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to overnight).
• Preheat the oven to 425°F with one rack on the bottom rung and one rack in the center of oven. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack to preheat.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough into a 13-inch round. Roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin, and then unfurl it into the 9-inch pie pan. Gently lift and settle the dough into the pan. Trim the excess dough using scissors, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, and transfer to the refrigerator. On a floured piece of parchment, roll out the second disc of dough to the same size as the first and refrigerate both crusts for 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk and set aside. Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch thick wedges. Place apples in a large bowl and mix with 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and lemon. Fill the dough-lined pan with the apple mixture, packing apple slices as tightly as possible.
• Brush the rim with egg and milk mixture, reserving the excess. Top with the second dough round and press over apples to minimize excess space between apples and crust. Press the top and bottom crusts together and trim the top crust to a 1-inch edge around pan. Tuck top edge under bottom edge and crimp or decorate as desired. Cut five vents in the top crust for steam. Refrigerate pie for 30 minutes to set the crimp.
• Brush top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Place pie on the preheated rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Rotate sheet, move to center rack, and reduce oven to 350°F. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown and you can see the thickened juices bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes more. Cool on a rack 3 to 4 hours to allow juices to set before slicing.
• Do Ahead
• The pie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and chilled, or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw before using. The baked pie will keep, loosely covered with aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

THE BEST APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For the crust, pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until blended. Add butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. While processing, add just enough ice water to form moist crumbs. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight., For the filling, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add apples and next 6 ingredients; stir to combine. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until apples have softened and released their juices, 10-12 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer apple slices to a 15x10-in. baking pan; spread into a single layer. Add cider to remaining liquid in Dutch oven and bring to a boil; cook until juices reduce to 1/2 cup, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour over apple slices; cool completely. (Filling can be made 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.), Preheat oven to 425°. Adjust oven rack to lowest position; place foil on rack to catch any spills. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a deep dish 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to within 1/2-in. of rim. Add filling. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Whisk together egg yolk and cream; brush top of pie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill 15 minutes., Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbly, 40-50 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

APPLE-HONEY PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers until it is in small bean-size pieces. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons ice water and the vinegar and stir to moisten. Gradually add up to 2 more tablespoons ice water until the dough holds together when squeezed. Transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap, gather into a disk and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Peel and chop the apples. Put half of the apples in a blender with 1 cup water and puree until smooth. Gradually add the remaining apples and blend until smooth, adding more water 1/4 cup at a time as needed.
• Pour the apple mixture into a large nonstick skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring, until very thick and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edge. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. Line the crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are dry and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove the weights and paper and continue to bake until the bottom of the crust is dry and just starting to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚ F.
• Return the apple mixture to the blender along with 1/2 cup honey and the sugar; puree until combined. Add 3/4 cup heavy cream, the eggs, vanilla and salt and pulse until just combined.
• Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until the filling is puffed and dry to the touch, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (tent the crust with foil if it is getting too dark). Turn off the oven and let the pie sit inside with the door cracked open, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Make the topping: Beat the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream and 2 teaspoons honey in a large bowl with a mixer until medium peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread on the pie.

INDIVIDUAL HONEYCRISP APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set out two 6-ounce ramekins.
• Place puff pastry sheet on a work surface and let thaw for just 5 minutes; it should still be partially frozen and very firm. Use a round pastry cutter the same diameter as your ramekins to cut out 2 rounds of dough. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Prick each pastry round all over with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the pastries are puffed up and the bottoms are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and slide parchment paper off the baking pan onto a work surface; press warm pastries down lightly with the back of a fork to deflate them a bit. Let cool.
• Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Mix brown sugar, white sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and a very small pinch of salt together in a bowl.
• Use 1 1/2 teaspoons butter to generously grease the bottom and sides of each ramekin. Spoon the sugar mixture evenly into each ramekin, reserving about 1 1/2 teaspoons for later. Shake ramekins gently to settle and flatten the sugar mixture.
• Fill a bowl with 3 cups cold water. Add lemon juice.
• Turn one apple on its side; trim about 1/4 inch off the top and bottom of the apple, then cut it in half through the center. Repeat with the second apple.
• Peel around the apple halves to remove the peel; discard. Continue to peel the flesh, making ribbons as long and as thick as possible until you reach the core, letting the ribbons drop into the water. As long as your ribbons are 3- to 4-inches long, that's fine.
• Pull out 3 to 4 of the longest ribbons and line them up on a work surface into one long ribbon, overlapping the ends an inch or so. Roll the ribbon up tightly to form the center of the tart, then turn it up on its end. Coil more ribbons around the center, overlapping as you go, until you have a coil that's the same diameter as your ramekin. Pick up the apple coil and place it into the ramekin, with the flat side on top of the sugar. Repeat to make the second tart.
• Dot 1/2 teaspoon butter over each tart, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture. Top each tart with a pastry round, placing the fork-poked side down on the apples.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastries have browned and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and press the hot pastries down gently with a fork. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
• Run a knife around each pastry, then turn over onto serving plates. Use a spoon to go around each tart to separate the layers and create more definition, if desired.

CLASSIC APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat and add apples to the pan. Stir to coat with butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is evenly distributed, about 1 minute.
• In a small bowl, whisk together sugars, spices and salt. Sprinkle over the apples and toss to combine.
• Lower heat to medium and cook until apples have softened completely but still hold their shape, about 17 to 25 minutes. (Some varieties cook more quickly than others.)
• Sprinkle cornstarch evenly over the apples and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the apple mixture comes to a simmer and thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and stir in lemon juice and zest. Allow apples to cool completely (spreading them onto a rimmed baking sheet speeds this up). Apples can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to a 9- or 10-inch metal pie plate, trimming it to leave a 1/2-inch overhang. Place crust in the freezer for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to bake, place a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10- to 11-inch circle. Remove pie crust from freezer and add the cooled filling in an even layer. Cover apples with remaining dough. Press the edges together, trim the excess dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers or a press down with the tines of a fork. (Using a fork might be easier if the bottom crust is too cold to crimp.) Brush the top of the pie with cream, milk, or some beaten egg, then sprinkle lightly with sugar if you like. Using a sharp knife, cut some steam vents in the top of the crust.
• Place pie on the hot sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling bubbles in the steam vents, and the crust is golden brown. Transfer pie to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. The pie can be baked up to 24 hours ahead of serving; do not refrigerate before serving.

HONEY AND SPICE NEW ENGLAND APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in the butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball., Divide dough in half so that one portion is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 40 minutes or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry even with edge. Whisk egg and water; brush over pastry., In a large bowl, sprinkle apples with lemon juice; toss to coat. Drizzle with honey and toss to coat. Combine the sugar, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice; toss with apple mixture. Transfer to crust and dot with butter., Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry. Brush with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place on a baking sheet., Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 50-60 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 to prevent overbrowning if necessary.