Maida Heatters Free Form Apple Pie Recipes

MAIDA HEATTER'S FREE-FORM APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
• Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add water and toss with a fork until pastry holds together.
• Shape pastry into a ball and flatten into a disk.
• Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat.
• Increase heat to high and add sugar and brandy.
• Stir in apples and cover and cook 3 minutes, stirring apples twice.
• Uncover and add raisins and cook apples, stirring until tender and liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes more.
• Cool apples completely.
• Stir in nuts.
• Heat oven to 425.
• Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into a 14 inch circle.
• Transfer pastry to a large cookie sheet.
• Arrange apples on pastry, leaving a 2 to 2 1/2 inch border around the edge.
• Fold edge of pastry over apples.
• The pie shell should be about 9 inches in diameter.
• Bake 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
• Melt preserves through a sieve into a cup.
• Drizzle over filling.
• Cool on cookie sheet.
• Transfer to serving platter when cool.

MAIDA HEATTER'S APPLE CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, adjusting rack to the top position. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Wash the berries briefly in bowl of cold water, drain, and let dry on paper towels.
• In small bowl beat the egg just to mix. Stir in the grated rind, raisins, orange juice, and vanilla and reserve.
• Peel, quarter, and core the apples and cut them into 1/4-inch dice. Measure out 1 cup of the apples and reserve.
• Into a large mixing bowl measure both flours, baking powder and soda, the spices, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to flour mixture, cutting in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add the egg and juice mixture and with a rubber spatula fold together only until the dry ingredients are barely moistened. Then briefly mix in the apples, cranberies, and walnuts. Do *not* handle any more than necessary.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. They will be mounded high above the tops. This is as it should be. Do not smooth the tops.
• Sprinkle the tops generously with additional sugar to give the muffins a light glaze.
• Bake for 25-28 minutes until just barely firm to the touch.
• Remove muffins from the pan and place on wire rack. They are best served warm or at room temperature; "the fresher the better," says Heatter.