Fall-Leaf Apple Pie

I've covered apple pies with a plain crust and a lattice, but for this pie I wanted to get more decorative. I've seen pies decorated with cutouts and the idea in Fine Cooking magazine to use overlapping leaves seemed perfect for Thanksgiving, everybody's favorite fall holiday.

The Fine Cooking recipe calls for cutting each leaf by hand, as well as making smaller leaves. I cheated a little bit: I used a leaf-shaped cookie cutter. This worked great, as each leave was the same size--about 3 1/2 inches long by 2 inches wide. I scored a line down the middle of each leaf with sharp knife (do this carefully to prevent cutting all the way through the dough).

When placing the leaves on top of the pie, they should overlap just slightly. If your leaves are cut to the same size as mine, you'll need 24 leaves to complete the top. Start with the outer ring and place 14 leaves flush against the edge of the pie plate. Then, complete the inner ring with 9 leaves. Finish with a final leaf in the center.

Since I've had such good luck with it in the past, I switched up the crust recipe and used my trusty "foolproof" double-pie crust with vodka recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Fall-Leaf Apple Pie
Adapted from Apple with Leaves recipe in Fine Cooking and Foolproof Pie Dough recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Crust:
12 1/2 oz. all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 tsp. table salt
2 tbsp. sugar
20 tbsp. cold unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup chilled vodka
1/4 cup very cold water

Pie:
5 to 6 firm, tart apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
1 to 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, about two 1-second pulses. Scatter butter over dry mixture and process until the dough starts to collect in uneven clumps, resembling cottage cheese with no uncoated flour, about 15 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber or silicone spatula and redistribute dough evenly around the blade. Add remaining cup of flour and give 4 to 6 quick pulses until dough is evenly distributed and the mass of dough has been broken up. Empty mixture into bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over dough mixture. With the spatula, combine the liquid with the dough using a folding motion, pressing down on dough until it sticks together (use your hands a little if needed, but be careful not to overwork the dough). Divide dough into two pieces, roll into balls and flatten slightly to form thick 4-inch discs. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 45 minutes, up to 2 days.

3. To make the pie crust and decorative top: On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the dough discs into a 12-inch round 1/8 inch thick. Fold the dough over the rolling pin, ease it into a 9-inch pie pan, and unfold it so it's centered over the pie plate with edges draped over the sides. Press the dough up the sides and over the rim of the pan, and trim it to leave about an inch of dough beyond the rim of the plate. Fold the edge of the dough under itself so that the crease is flush with the top of the pie plate. Press a fork into the edge of the dough to make vertical lines--this "crimping" process seals the folded dough together. Chill the pie plate with the dough while you cut out the leaves.

4. Combine any scraps from the first disc with the second disc and roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. With a paring knife or a leaf cutter, cut out at least 24 leaves 3 1/2 x 2 inches in size. With the paring knife, score a "vein" down the center of each leaf, being careful not to cut all the way through the dough. Place the cut leaves on a floured baking sheet (don't stack them) and set them aside in a cool place.

5. Cut the apples into 1/4-inch slices--there should be about 7 cups. Put the apples in a large bowl and add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss gently to coat the apples with the flour-sugar-spice mixture. Transfer the apples to the cooled pie shell, tucking in any apples to create a slight dome in the center. Dot the apples with large flecks of the remaining 1 to 2 tbsp. of butter.

6. Starting at the rim of the pie plate, place the leaves at a slight angle and slightly overlapping around the edge of the pie until the leaves go all the way around. Then make a second smaller circle of leaves closer to the middle of the pie--finishing with a final leaf in the middle. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

7. Position two racks close together in the lower third of the oven, set a foil-lined baking sheet on the lowest rack to catch any drippings from the pie. Heat the oven to 350 F.

8. Bake the pie on the second-lowest rack until the crust is a deep golden brown all over and the apples are tender when pierced with a thin knife blade, about 60 to 80 minutes (I baked my pie for 85 minutes). Let the pie cool completely before serving.

Thanksgiving Central

Apple Butter

What are you going to slather on those Butter-Flaky Biscuits I posted today? Homemade Compound Herb Butter seems like butter overkill (although it is very good). Bacon Marmalade might be a good choice, but unfortunately there are those non-bacon eaters out there. So here's a choice that should please just about everybody: apple butter.

It's sort of like applesauce but richer, thicker, smoother. Are you sensing a downside? I'm not. It's pretty amazing on biscuits, toast, sandwiches--just about anything that benefits from a delicious spread.

This is a good simple recipe from the Food Network. You can use any kind of apples you like or a mixture. Something softer would probably work better, such as Braeburn or Fuji.

Apple Butter
Adapted from a recipe by Food Network Kitchen

4 lb. apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups apple cider (the nonalcoholic kind you find in the produce section)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 250 F.

2. Combine apples, apple cider, brown sugar and salt in a large oven-proof pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the apples are soft, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves. Using an immersion blender, puree until the mixture is smooth (alternatively, transfer in batches to a blender and puree, returning the puree to the pot).

4. Bake, uncovered, stirring every 30 minutes, until the apple butter has thickened and turned deep amber color, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate (use within a week).

Related

Butter-Laminated Biscuits

Bacon Marmalade

Homemade Compound Herb Butter

Thanksgiving Central

Caramel Apple Custard Pie

Two years ago, I shared a recipe for Apple Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust, my attempt to make an apple pie with a texture more like pumpkin pie. The apple custard was a great discovery--it's like rich apple sauce, sweet and satisfying but still somehow "lighter" than a pumpkin filling. That pie was very good, but I wanted to revisit it and make some changes.

First, I wasn't fully sold on the crust. It was delicious, but it burnt a bit in the oven and was hard to cut. For this pie, I wanted to use a more traditional pie crust. When looking at options in the Cook's Illustrated book, The Science of Good Cooking, I came across the rather clever idea of rolling the crust out using graham cracker crumbs. This adds a bit of that "cookie" flavor while still having a traditionally flaky crust. I also decided to add a caramel sauce that would form layers above and below the apple-custard filling. The caramel sauce was a big plus, giving the pie a needed richness boost. I had also considered topping this with meringue, but decided it really wasn't necessary (plus meringue is difficult to deal with for Thanksgiving, as it should be done just before serving for best results). So, no meringue, but I didn't miss it.

Admittedly, this dessert has a lot of steps. I cut a few corners when I made it, and I regretted this, as the pie was a bit "runny" because I hadn't allowed the custard to completely chill nor the caramel sauce. The next day though, after spending the night in the fridge, it was perfect.

If you were going to make this for Thanksgiving, I suggest making it ahead of time, given all the steps involved. For example, you could do the following the day before, then on Thanksgiving Day, just serve it:

11:15 a.m. (or earlier) mix the pie dough; chill in the refrigerator
12:20 p.m. allow pie dough to warm a bit at room temperature
12:30 p.m. roll out pie dough and form pie shell in pie plate
12:45 p.m. chill formed pie shell
1:00 p.m. bake pie shell (allow to cool afterwards for about an hour)
2:00 p.m. make the caramel sauce
2:30 p.m. pour first layer of caramel into pie shell, then chill in refrigerator; make the filling
3:00 p.m. assemble and bake the pie
3:30 p.m. remove pie from oven, allow to cool on rack
4:00 p.m. place baked pie in fridge to chill
5:00 p.m. pour final layer of caramel sauce and return to fridge

Caramel Apple Custard Pie
Crust recipe adapted from Foolproof Single-Crust Pie Dough for Custard Pies recipe from Cook's Illustrated: The Science of Good Cooking by America's Test Kitchen and Guy Crosby; caramel sauce recipe adapted from Bourbon-Caramel Pumpkin Tart, Fine Cooking.

Note: Take note of the time required before making this pie, as it requires not just cooking time but chilling and cooling time too (see suggested schedule above).

Equipment: food processor, pastry rolling mat (optional, may use other flat surface), pie plate, immersion blender (optional, may use food processor), pie weights (optional, may use spare change), aluminum foil.

Crust:
1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tbsp. ice water (plus more if needed)
2 tbsp. chilled vodka
3 whole graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (about 1/2 cup of crumbs)

Caramel sauce:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon

Filling:

4 large Granny Smith apples (use 5 if they are smaller), about 2 pounds, peeled, cored, quarted and chopped into 1/4-inch thick pieces
1/3 cup water
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

Crust:

1. Add 3/4 cup flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the cold butter cubes across the top of the mixture and process until the butter is incorporated and the mixture forms uneven clumps with no remaining floury bits, about 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of flour over the dough and pulse until the mixture has broken up into pieces and is evenly distributed around the bowl, about 4 to 6 pulses.

2. Transfer mixture to a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. of ice water and the vodka. With a spatula, use a folding motion to stir and press together the dough until the dough sticks together. Add a little additional ice water (no more than a tablespoon) if the dough doesn't come together. Using your fingers, form the dough into a disc about 4 inches across. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

3. Set dough on counter to warm up for about 10 minutes. Spread half the crushed graham cracker crumbs on the surface where you'll be rolling out the pastry. Place the dough in the middle of the crumbs, sprinkle with some of the crumbs and roll out, sprinkling with crumbs as you roll until the dough is a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully transfer the rolled dough to a pie plate (I like to wrap the dough around the rolling pin and then carefully unroll it into the plate, gently lifting up the edges to ease the dough into the corners of the plate). Trim the overhang to about 1/2-inch evenly around the pie plate. Fold the overhang under itself to the edge of the dough is flush with the rim of the pie plate. Flute the edge of the dough or press with the tines of a fork (I always do the latter as my "fluting" skills aren't up to snuff). Chill the pie dough for at least 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 425 F with oven rack in middle position (depending on how long it takes to heat your oven, you may want to start the preheating while the dough is first chilled, before rolling it out).

5. Line the top of the pie shell with aluminum foil and weight it down with pie weights or spare change (don't worry--the money won't melt at this temperature). Bake until the dough is dried out, about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil and continue baking until the pie shell is a golden-brown color, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Caramel Sauce:

6. Combine brown sugar, butter and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts and begins to darken around the edges, about 5 minutes. Carefully whisk in the cream (it will sputter a bit) and simmer, whisking frequently, until the mixture is smooth and thick enough that the whisk leaves the bottom of the pan visible, about 7 to 9 minutes. Add the bourbon and continue simmering, whisking occasionally, until the whisk leaves the bottom of the pan visible again, another 2 minutes. Transfer caramel mixture to a heatproof glass measuring cup and allow to cool.

7. Pour half of the caramel sauce into the baked pie shell and return pie shell to refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before adding the filling below. Refrigerate remaining caramel sauce until ready to use (you may need to gently reheat it in a microwave before pouring it over the pie below).

Filling

8. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add apples and 1/3 cup water. Cover and cook until the mixture boils. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the apples are very soft, about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the apples until they are very smooth (alternatively, transfer to a food processor, puree until very smooth, then transfer mixture back to the saucepan). Cook apple puree over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened (it should be as thick as pumpkin puree). You should have about 2 cups (16 oz.) of puree (don't fret if you have a little less). Set aside.

9. Combine apple puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to sputter, cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the milk and heavy cream and cook until the mixture simmers.

10. Add the lightly beaten egg yolks to a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1 cup of the hot apple mixture, then whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan with the apple mixture until well combined. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Assemble and bake

11. Preheat oven to 400 F.

12. Pour the hot apple mixture on top of the first layer of caramel in the pie shell. Bake until the filling is puffed and dried out on top, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack then refrigerate about an hour. Pour the remaining caramel sauce on top of the cooked filling and chill a final 15 minutes to set the caramel before serving (or chill overnight and serve the next day).

Related

Apple Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Bourbon-Caramel Pumpkin Tart

Apple Pie with Vodka Crust

Lattice Apple Pie with Rye Whiskey Crust

Thanksgiving Central

Deluxe Appletini

Bright green and super sweet, the appletini is one of those cocktails that's easy to enjoy when you're new to cocktails. It goes down easy and it's simple to make: the most popular version is simply vodka and sour apple schnapps.

I drank a lot of them back in the day, but frankly, they no longer appeal to me. Not to sound too snobby about it, but I like a more refined cocktail--something that isn't so sweet and has more interesting flavors.

Yet to forgo the appletini shouldn't mean there aren't plenty of other great ways to use apples in cocktails (see the "related" links below for some great examples). For this drink, I wanted a cocktail that celebrated apples but was more refined than the traditional appletini.

Of course, an appletini isn't a real martini in the traditional sense, but we can nudge it a little closer by using gin instead of vodka. I used the Half Moon Orchard Gin that Roofers Union bartender Frank Mills introduced me to when he shared his recipe for the How Do You Like Dem Apples cocktail. The gin is made with apples as produced by Tuthilltown Spirits Farm Distillery in New York.

For the apple liqueur, I turned to Leopold Brothers, a Denver-based distillery that makes amazing gin, but also a line of liqueurs. Their New York sour apple liqueur uses a blend of sweet apples like Honeycrisps and sour ones like Granny Smith. For the ginger liqueur, I went with Bloomery SweetShine ginger liqueur from the Bloomery Plantation Distillery in West Virginia (which has, unfortunately, closed). Lastly, the bitters--technically a shrub--also contain apples. It's a celery-apple shrub from Bittermens to round out the drink.

For the garnish, I cut a very long apple peel and set it in the glass as a spiral. It doesn't really stick to the side of the glass, but even if it floats it still looks fun.

Deluxe Appletini

2 oz. Half Moon Orchard gin
1 oz. Leopold Brothers New York sour apple liqueur
1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (such as Bloomery Sweetshine)
1/4 oz. Amontillado sherry
1/4 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes Bittermens Orchard Street celery shrub
Apple spiral garnish

Combine gin, apple liqueur, ginger liqueur, sherry, lemon juice and shrub in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold. Place the apple spiral in a chilled cocktail glass. Strain cocktail into the glass.

Lattice Apple Pie with Rye Whiskey Crust

Pumpkin pie and pecan pie are wonderful things, but for Thanksgiving, my heart truly belongs to apple pie. It's just got to be there, the final touch to a wonderful meal.

A couple years ago, I made an Apple Pie with Vodka Crust, which proved to be very popular among readers (it even garnered a mention from the now-defunct New York Times Diner's Journal blog).

The use of the vodka is a technique I learned from America's Test Kitchen. The alcohol inhibits gluten formation and evaporates faster than water alone, promoting a flakier crust. If you're concerned about taste, vodka is a good choice because it's nearly flavorless. However, this technique also provides the opportunity to experiment by using a more flavorful spirit--something that would complement the flavor of the pie. I chose rye whiskey, since it goes nicely with apples. For pumpkin pie, I might choose a dark rum.

Cutting the lattice strips.

The real joy of this pie though is the lattice top. I almost always weave a lattice onto the top of my Thanksgiving apple pie. It's such a lovely look when it's done, and it's not hard to do. The most important thing to remember is to make the lattice while the dough is cold. Don't let it warm up, as it becomes too pliable and may tear easily. While you're rolling out the dough for the pie bottom, keep the other piece of dough in the refrigerator until you've filled the pie and are ready to make the lattice. Then roll it out and cut it into strips. I like to use a fluted pastry cutter wheel to give the edges that zig-zag look.

I've included instructions below for forming the lattice with drawings. If you want to see the process with photos, check out The Aubergine Chef's post about lattice pies.

Pie with lattice ready for baking.

Lattice Apple Pie with Rye Whiskey Crust
Adapted from Foolproof Pie Dough and Classic Apple Pie recipes by America's Test Kitchen

12 1/2 oz. all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 tsp. table salt
2 tbsp. sugar
20 tbsp. cold unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup chilled rye whiskey
1/4 cup very cold water
2 lbs. Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium apples)
2 lbs. Honeycrisp apples (about 4 medium apples)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp, but I love cinnamon, so I use more)
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Cinnamon-sugar, for topping

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, about two 1-second pulses. Scatter butter over dry mixture and process until the dough starts to collect in uneven clumps, resembling cottage cheese with no uncoated flour, about 15 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber or silicone spatula and redistribute dough evenly around the blade. Add remaining cup of flour and give 4 to 6 quick pulses until dough is evenly distributed and the mass of dough has been broken up. Empty mixture into bowl.

2. Sprinkle whiskey and very cold water over dough mixture. With the spatula, combine the liquid with the dough using a folding motion, pressing down on dough until it sticks together (use your hands a little if needed, but be careful not to overwork the dough). Divide dough into two pieces, roll into balls and flatten slightly to form thick 4-inch discs. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 45 minutes, up to 2 days.

3. Preheat oven to 425 F with oven rack in center position. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm slightly if stiff and very cold. On a floured surface, roll out the first disc to a circle with an even thickness and 12-inch diameter. Gently fold dough into quarters, lay in 9-inch pie plate and unfold so that dough has an even overhang around the rim of the pie plate. Refrigerate while preparing the apples.

4. Peel, core and chop the apples into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices. Put in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and spices. Transfer the mixture to the dough-lined pie plate, mounding the fruit mixture in the middle.

5. Roll out the other dough disc to a circle with an even thickness and 12-inch diameter. Using a pastry cutter wheel or knife, cut the dough into 10 to 12 strips about 3/4-inch wide.

6. Weave the lattice:

A. Place five or six strips over the pie in a row, leaving about 1/2 inch of space between each strip (if you only do five strips, omit strip 6 in the following directions). See figure 1 below.

Fig. 1

 B. Fold back every other strip (stripes 2, 4 and 6 in fig. 2 below) halfway. Place a strip (strip A) across strips 1, 3 and 5--the strips that you did not fold back (see fig. 2 below).

Fig. 2

C. Unfold strips 2, 4 and 6 back down over strip A. This makes the first weave: strip A is woven over strips 1, 3 and 5 and under strips 2, 4 and 6. Next, fold back strips 1, 3 and 5 and place another strip (strip B) over strips 2, 4 and 6 (see fig 3 below).

Fig.3 

 D. Unfold strips 1, 3 and 5 back down over strip B. Strip B is now woven over strips 2, 4 and 6 and under strips 1, 3 and 5--the opposite of strip A. Fold back strips 2, 4 and 6 and place another strip (a shorter one--strip C) over strips 1, 3 and 5 (see fig. 4 below). Unfold strips 2, 4 and 6 back down over strip C.

Fig. 4

E. Continue weaving in two to three more strips, this time working from the top (the next strip, strip D, will go directly above strip A: fold back strips 1, 3 and 5 so that strip D would be woven under strips 1, 3 and 5 and over strips 2, 4 and 6. Alternate with strip E, and if you have space, strip F.

7. Trim the strips and bottom dough edges to 1/2-inch beyond the pie plate lip. Fold the 1/2-inch overhang over itself so the folded edge is flush with the plate lip, sealing in the ends of the strips as you fold. Use a fork to flute the edge, which further fastens the strips to the bottom pie crust. Sprinkle the top of pie with cinnamon-sugar. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet for baking (because the lattice provides larger holes than a top crust would, it's important to bake the pie on a bakings sheet in case it bubbles over).

8. Bake until pie is golden, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F and bake another 30-35 minutes (up to 45 minutes) until the pie is bubbly and golden brown. Remove pie from oven and place pie on a wire rack to cool.

Other Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (links to all recipes and stories)

Apple Pie with Vodka Crust

Apple Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Old Fashioned Texas Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving Ice Creams (Pumpkin Spice and Ginger-Brown Sugar)

Roasted Stuffed Caramel Apples

Walking through a beach town last month, I passed the window of a confectionery with a fresh batch of caramel apples in the window. They were so beautiful, glistening brown caramel perfectly coating each apple. They are so tempting.

But then I remembered my experience with such a treat, and it's not pretty. They're hard to eat. Very messy (for similar reasons, I'm not a big fan of cupcakes). The apple inside is probably a red delicious, which isn't one of my favorite varieties. Plus, since the apple is coated in caramel, you can't really tell whether you're getting a good one or not.

But I love apples and I love caramel, so I thought about creating a dessert that honor these two flavors with a presentation more to my liking--something fully cooked that you eat with a knife and fork but still coated in yummy gooey caramel.

Having had success with roasting apples last year for a savory dish, I decided to do something similar but with sweeter dessert flavors. There are quite a few recipes for roasted stuffed apples that follow a pretty similar format: core the apple, fill the cavity with sugar, butter, nuts and sometimes grains, then roast with a little liquid in the bottom of the pan.

Roasted Stuffed Caramel Apples

4 honeycrisp apples
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup apple cider (may use apple juice)
Caramel sauce (see recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of each apple. Using a melon baller, core the apple about 2/3 of the way down, being sure to remove all of the seeds. This should leave a round cavity in the center of each apple about 1-inch across and about 2 inches deep.

3. In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves and salt, mashing the mixture with a fork to work the butter and sugar together. Divide the mixture between the apples and spoon it into the cored-out cavity of each apple.

4. Place the apples in a square 9 X 9 baking dish. Pour apple cider around the apples. Bake in the oven until the apples are soft when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Allow the apples to cool about 5 minutes. Spoon caramel sauce over each apple and serve.

Caramel Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Bon Appétit, January 2013

1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
3 tbsp. water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1. In a 4 qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, cream of tartar and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir it a bit to make sure the sugar dissolves evenly, but then let it cook unstirred until it starts to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring a bit, until it reaches the color of honey. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep amber color, about another 3-4 minutes (the times really don’t matter in this recipe and they may vary depending on your range—it’s the color stages that are important).

2. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk in the butter (carefully, since it will sputter), then the cream (again, be careful) and then finally the salt. Allow the sauce to cool a bit and then transfer to an appropriate container: a glass jar, bowl or measuring cup (don’t use plastic if the mixture is still hot). Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Cocktail: Honey Bourbon Apple Cider

This is a last-minute bonus cocktail that I wasn't planning for this week, but I made it last night and thought it was a good complement to the How Do You Like Dem Apples cocktail, especially for those bourbon fans out there.

In yesterday's all-apple edition of The Feed, I wrote about a Bon Appétit recipe for an apple cocktail with bourbon and honey. Apples and honey are a traditional combination for Rosh Hashanah--which just happens to be today (well, last night through tomorrow night).

I found this recipe on the Urban Sacred Garden blog and tweaked it a bit, upping the apple cider and honey syrup and adding additional bitters. The Bon Appétit recipe used a spiced honey syrup, which sounded good, but for simplicity, it's really easier to use spiced cocktail bitters like Angostura and Fee Brothers Barrel-Aged Bitters, which give the drink a wonderful spiciness.

Honey Bourbon Apple Cider
Adapted from a recipe by Urban Sacred Garden

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. Laird's Applejack (or other apple brandy)
3/4 oz. honey syrup (see note)
2 oz. non-alcoholic apple cider
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
1-2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters
Orange peel (garnish)

Note: To make honey syrup, combine 2 parts honey with 1 part hot water and stir until mixed with an even consistency.

Combine the bourbon, Applejack, honey syrup, apple cider and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until cold. Strain into a rocks glass with ice. Squeeze the orange peel over the drank and garnish the glass with it.

Cocktail: How Do You Like Dem Apples

This just might be the ultimate apple cocktail. It doesn't just have apple cider or apple brandy but also features an apple-based spirit, Half Moon Orchard Gin, which is made from wheat and apples by Tuthilltown Spirits in New York.

Bartender Frank Mills at Roofers Union in Adams-Morgan created this drink for a recent D.C. food bloggers happy hour, a really fun evening featuring a number of apple dishes created by chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley. Frank served the drink as a punch, but the recipe below, which he was kind enough to share with me, is scaled for a single serving. Feel free to scale up if you're having a party--this would make a great fall event cocktail, including a pre-Thanksgiving dinner drink.

How Do You Like Dem Apples
Created by Roofers Union bartender Frank Mills

2 oz. Red Jacket apple cider
1 oz. Half Moon Orchard Gin (gin made with apples and wheat)
1/2 oz. Laird's Apple Brandy
1/2 oz. Domino light brown sugar (a heaping tablespoon)
1/4 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a thin slice of apple.

The Feed, Apples Edition: September 24, 2014

Desserts, like Apple Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust, are among the many wonderful ways to enjoy apples.

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

Washington Post: “‘Apples of Uncommon Character’: Lots to Sink Your Teeth Into,” by Bonnie S. Benwick. 
Benwick writes about Rowan Jacobsen’s new book, Apples of Uncommon Character: 123 Heirlooms, Modern Classics, & Little-Known Wonders, a guide to common and not-so-common apple varieties complete with recipes, such as Apples and Sausage in Cider, Asturian Style.

Washington Post: “Apple-Honey Pairings for the Jewish New Year and Beyond," by Bonnie S. Benwick.
 Jacobsen also provided advice on pairing honey and apples—a Rosh Hashanah tradition—taking advantage of the many available varieties of both.

Wall Street Journal: “American-Made Ciders Redefine the Apple Cocktail,” by Kara Newman.
For a long time, apples + cocktails = appletini, a drink so unnaturally green it was best served at St. Patrick’s Day. Thankfully, more interesting ways to use apples in drinks are emerging, including drinks that use freshly juiced apples, cider and hard cider (I’ve got a really awesome apple cocktail coming up tomorrow). Newman shares a recipe for The Alien Comic from New York’s Pearl & Ash made with apple juice, white vermouth, sherry and hard cider.

Bon Appétit: “Happy New Year, Honey.”
Speaking of apples and honey and cocktails, Bon Appétit offers this bourbon cocktail with spiced honey syrup, applejack and hard cider.

Smitten Kitchen: “Sunken Apple and Honey Cake,” by Deb Perelman.
Perelman, creator of the very popular cooking blog, shares this delicious-looking recipe for a cake with apples that sink into the cake as bakes. Looks really cool.

The Windsor Star: “Fresh This Week: Apples,” by Beatrice Fantoni.
Fantoni provides an overview of apple season in Canada (not that different from apple season in the United States) and includes a mouth-watering recipe for 20-minute hot apple sundae. Yum!

WUSA9: “Recipe: Apple Pizza Tart”
I love apples. I love pizza. Bringing the two together into a tart? Genius. The recipe is from Paula Shoyer, author of The Kosher Baker cookbook.

The Oregonian: “Applesauce, Apple Butter and Chutney Recipes Prove That Homemade Beats Store-Bought Every Time,” by Grant Butler.
Sure you can buy things, but it’s so much more satisfying (and pretty easy, particularly applesauce) to make your own. Recipes included.

The Atlantic, “The Awful Reign of the Red Delicious,” by Sarah Yager.
During our apple tasting, we found that the Red Delicious apple wasn’t that bad, especially in the texture department (and it didn’t have a thick waxy coating—none of the apples did). Despite it's detractors, it's still the most widely grown apple in the U.S. Yager examines why this, among all others, became America’s proto-typical apple.

Apple-Potato Soup with Chicken-Apple Sausage and Parmesan Crumble

Apples and cheese make a great pair. If I'm in the mood for a light dinner, a sliced apple, a sharp cheese and a glass of wine--a bold white, like a chardonnay--makes a great meal. My dad always liked to eat apple pie with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, and apple pie with cheese baked into the crust is good too.

That combination is the inspiration behind this apple soup, which gets a topping of what I'm calling "parmesan crumble," which is just crumbled frico, a homemade parmesan cracker.

Apples are commonly found in desserts and salads, but I love to find ways to work them into a main course. Soup is a perfect vehicle for apples, their tart sweetness makes a good counterpoint to something more savory, in this case potatoes and cheese.

Although already fully cooked, a I recommend browning the apple-chicken sausage in a frying pan to reheat it and add additional flavor.

Apples wend their way into this dish in two ways. The body of the soup contains Granny Smith apples, that common, very tart apple that works well in savory dishes like this. The chicken sausage also contains apple.

Frico, homemade parmesan crackers, give the soup a crunchy cheese topping.

Apple-Potato Soup with Chicken-Apple Sausage and Parmesan Crumble

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large or 3 medium-size Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (at least 2 pinches)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
12 oz. chicken-apples sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds

Parmesan crumble:
1 oz. shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 tsp. flour
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste


1. Heat a Dutch oven or other large pot for soup over medium heat. Melt the butter, then add the onion, celery and garlic. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the potato, stir to combine and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the apple and sage and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook another 5 minutes, then add the chicken broth and water. Increase heat and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to simmer for about 40-45 minutes until the potato and apple have softened.

2. While the soup simmers, make the parmesan crumble. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place a nonstick liner (like a Silpat) on a baking sheet. Combine cheese, flour and pepper and spoon onto the baking sheet into three evenly spaced mounds. Use a spatula or the back of the spoon to flatten the mounds into rounds of even thickness about 4 inches in diameter. Bake until golden, about 8-11 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple minutes and then very carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (be careful, they break really easily). Once cooled, crumble by hand into smaller pieces.

3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth (alternatively, transfer in batches to a blender to puree).

4. Heat sausage in a medium frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Add to the soup and stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust salt, pepper and nutmeg as desired. Serve soup in shallow bowls topped with a sprinkle of parmesan crumble.

An Apple a Day

Is there a fruit more iconic than an apple? I'm hard-pressed to think of one. From the Book of Genesis to the iPhone, the apple has long held a special place in our culture.

Maybe you gave one to your teacher in elementary school or recall the legend of Johnny Appleseed, a real person who did help introduce apple trees to parts of the East Coast and Midwest. Perhaps you, like me, cannot wait until Thanksgiving to dive into a delicious apple pie. Perhaps you even remember Snow White being poisoned by one, but hopefully that didn't put you off eating them.

The most popular fruit consumed in the United States, the banana, is an import, but apples are #2, making them this country's most popular domestic fruit. According to the U.S. Apple Association, apples are grown in every state in the continental United States. I have a special affinity for the top-producing state, Washington, since I went to college there. Other top producers include New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.

One of the great things about apples are their versatility. They can be eaten raw without any preparation, making them an ideal snack, given their few calories and high fiber content. But cooked, you can do many delightful things with them: bake them into a pie, chop them up for salads, puree them into a sauce, incorporated them into pastry or bread, distill them, juice them, sauté them...the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

All this week I'll be featuring stories and recipes about apples. Today, I have a tasting of seven common apple varieties and a wonderful apple appetizer: Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini. Tomorrow, I'll share a recipe for Apple-Potato Soup with Chicken-Apple Sausage and Parmesan Crumble, Wednesday is an all-apples edition of The Feed (my weekly round-up of food stories), Thursday I've got a great apple cocktail courtesy of a bartender from DC's Roofers Union (plus a bonus bourbon, honey and apple cocktail) and Friday I'll share a recipe for a delectable roasted stuffed caramel apple dessert. In the meantime, check out my recent round-up of great apples recipes.

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, stick with my site this week and you'll be in good health.

Apples to Apples: A Tasting

From left to right: Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jonagold, Gala, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious

Growing up, I remember three varieties of apples at the grocery store: Red Delicious and Golden Delicious for snacking and Granny Smith for cooking. And that was it. The only other apple I ever got back then was a Spitzenberg, which grew on a tree in our backyard.

Today, there are a lot more varieties of apples easily accessible at the traditional grocery store, upscale food shops and farmers markets. Back in 1989, 25 years ago, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith together accounted for 66 percent of U.S. apple production, but by 2011, their share had fallen to 43 percent (according to U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service). Red Delicious in particular has taken a tumble: production of the shiny red apple peaked in 1994, when it accounted for half of all U.S. apples. Seventeen years later, it's still the most popular apple, but accounts for less than a fourth of U.S. production as the availability of varieties such as Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp have steadily risen.

This is good for the consumer. More varieties of apples at the store means there's more to choose from and enjoy. But how do you choose?

I set up a tasting of seven common apple varieties, including the three familiar ones from my youth, plus four that have become popular in recent years: Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp and Jonagold. All of these varieties are readily available at grocery stores such as Safeway and Whole Foods (the two stores where I purchased them). I chose only apples grown in the United States, and five of the varieties (the ones from Whole Foods) came from Washington State, America's #1 apple-growing state.

Chris and I tasted all of them over dinner one night in the order presented below. Here are our thoughts on their flavor and texture, augmented with facts from the U.S. Apple Association (you can read about many other apple varieties on their site as well).

Red Delicious: beautiful and very sweet, but lacking in flavor.

Red Delicious. Long the most popular apple in the U.S., Red Delicious' reputation has tarnished a bit of late, as consumers have begun to favor more flavorful and firmer-textured apples. Expecting to not really care for it, I was pleasantly surprised that the apple really wasn't that bad. Sure, it wasn't one of our favorites, but it had a great texture that wasn't at all mealy. Where the apple fell down was on taste. The Red Delicious apple was very sweet--the sweetest of the bunch--and really nothing else. There just wasn't that much flavor there. It was beautiful too look at though, a deep garnet red, with a curvy shape unique to western Red Delicious apples, which are described as having "feet" in comparison to most apples that are more rounded.

Golden Delicious: crisp with a nice balance of sweet and tart.

Golden Delicious. This apple was discovered in 1890 on the East Coast and originally named Mullin's Yellow Seedling before acquiring its current name in 1916. I really liked this apple's texture, which was noticeably crisper than the Red Delicious. Flavor-wise, it wasn't as sweet as Red Delicious and was even a little sour, although not nearly as tart as its friend Granny Smith below. It really is a nice happy medium between two, making it a great apple for snacking on raw. Golden Delicious, along with Granny Smith, is one of the few most common varieties of apples that aren't red.

Granny Smith: very tart and firm.

Granny Smith. Believe it or not, the Granny Smith really is named for "Granny Smith," specifically Maria Ann "Granny" Smith, an orchardist who cultivated the apple in Australia. This apple is well known among bakers, as it is a favorite for apple pies. It's tartness is ideal for cooking, allowing the cook to control the level of the dish's sweetness by adding more or less sugar. For many years, Granny Smith was our go-to snack apple too. I love its tartness. And man is it tart! The most sour apple of this group by far. I love it with a little peanut butter, as it really brings out the peanut butter's sweetness. The apply has a very firm texture, which is almost chalky (not in a bad way).

Jonagold: wonderful, juicy flavor and somewhat firm.

Jonagold. This variety was one I found at Whole Foods and not one that we eat often. That might change after this tasting, for I was really taken with this apple. It has a full flavor nicely balanced between sweet and tart and very juicy. It's pretty firm, although not quite as firm as Golden Delicious. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the texture is similar, since Jonagold is a hybrid between a Jonathan apple and a Golden Delicious, created in 1968. Although most of these apples had white flesh, the Jonagold's was markedly more yellow. So far, this one

Gala: lacking in flavor and crispiness.

Gala. Production-wise in the United States, Gala apples are now second to Red Delicious, a remarkable rise, considering that Galas were pretty much unknown until the mid '90s. Frankly, their popularly is a bit lost on us, as this was our least favorite apple we sampled. Except for the Red Delicious, this apple had the least interesting flavor, but we actually liked Red Delicious's texture more, as the Gala's mouthfeel was a bit mealy. I do, however, like this apple for cooking: it's wonderful in the Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini that I posted to my site today.

Fuji: firm texture and balanced flavor.

Fuji. It's no coincidence the Fuji apple shares its name with Japan's best-known mountain; the apple was created there, a hybrid between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, a cultivar from Virginia. Like the Gala, this apple enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity. It first appeared in the United States in the 1980s, and by 1998 it was the third most-produced variety. The Fuji has a nice firm texture, similar to that of the Granny Smith, but not at all sour like that apple. The Fuji's flavor was nicely balanced. It's not a very bold apple, but it's certainly not a bad apple either.

Honeycrisp: Juicy and crisp; less sweet than expected.

Honeycrisp. Is there an apple with a better name than "honeycrisp?" It's rather genius, positively conveying its sweetness and texture. Interestingly, the Honeycrisp wasn't the sweetest apple in this bunch, trailing both Red Delicious and Jonagold. It's texture though is fabulous, a wonderful combination of juiciness and crispness. This texture is a reason Honeycrisp is becoming a rather popular apple for baking (I like to use a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp in my pies). Later this week, I'll be featuring a baked apple dessert that uses Honeycrisp apples.

Verdict: The Jonagold apple was my overall favorite, a juicy apple with wonderful apple flavor that's nicely balanced between sweet and tart. Texture-wise, Honeycrisp was king, although Golden Delicious was second. All of the apples were good though--even our least favorites had their strong points. Now it's your turn. Tell me what your favorite apples are and whether you agree with my assessment of these varieties.

Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini

When it comes to a simple appetizer, it's hard to top crostini. Or rather, it's easy to top crostini and that's the point. It's just bread, usually toasted, with something delicious piled on top.

Blue cheese and apples go great together because you get a wonderful combination of pungent and sweet and a mix of textures. Pushing the flavor of these crostini a little further, I made them just a touch spicy and three times smoky by using a smoked blue cheese, cooking the apples with some smoky chipotle chili powder and sprinkling a little hickory-smoked sea salt on top.

Triple Smoky Apple-Blue Cheese Crostini

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin (about 1/8-inch) slices
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 to 2 tbsp. honey
12-14 baguette slices
2 oz. smoked blue cheese (such as Moody Blue or Rogue Creamery)
Hickory-smoked sea salt

1. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Melt butter, then add the apple slices. Season with cinnamon and chipotle chili powder. Cook the apples about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the slices are tender but still keep their shape. Add the honey, stir to combine and cook another minute or two. Remove from heat.

2. (Optional) lightly toast the baguette slices on a baking sheet under an oven broiler until light brown.

3. Gently heat the blue cheese in the microwave to soften it (I did two low-power blasts of 15 seconds eat, stirring the cheese between blasts). Spread an even layer of cheese on each slice of bread. Then pile a few slices (3-5) of apple on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with a little hickory-smoked sea salt. Serve immediately--they are good warm or cooled off.