Recipes for apple pie and pumpkin pie, plus pastry

Photo: katie/Flickr

Any way you slice it, apple or pumpkin pie are bound to be on the dessert table at many Thanksgiving feasts. Here are recipes for both, plus pastry, to dazzle your guests.

“Blue Ribbon” Apple Pie

This apple pie will be sure to win you the “blue ribbon” first prize at the next baking contest, says pastry chef Anna Olson.

Prep time: 40 minutes

Baking time: 1 hour plus cooling

1 recipe Pie Dough for Fruit Fillings, chilled (recipe follows)

1.2 kg (6 cups) peeled and sliced (1-cm/1/2-inch thick) mixed apples (about 5 medium apples such as Mutsu, Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Honeycrisp or Cortland)

15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh lemon juice

100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

70 g (1/3 cup) packed light brown sugar

3 g (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

1 g (1/4 tsp) ground allspice

1 g (1/4 tsp) ground nutmeg

12 g (2 tbsp) rolled oats

30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter

1 egg, whisked with 30 ml (2 tbsp) water, for brushing

Granulated sugar and ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Pull dough from fridge 15 to 30 minutes before you are ready to roll it. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In a non-reactive bowl, toss sliced apples with lemon juice. Leave half the apples in bowl. Place other half in a saute pan or saucepan and heat on medium until some of the juices cook out and the apples soften, about 10 minutes. Remove apples from pan with a slotted spoon and stir with uncooked apples to cool.

In a separate bowl, stir both sugars with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg to blend. Stir into apples and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out first disc of dough into a circle just less than 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick. Dust a 23-cm (9-inch) pie plate with flour and line bottom and sides of plate with pastry so it hangs over the edge of the plate a little. Sprinkle bottom of shell with oats (this will help absorb any excess juices). Spoon apple filling into shell and dot with butter.

Roll out remaining disc of dough to 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick and place over apples. Trim excess dough and pinch edges of crust together, creating a fluted edge. Brush pastry with egg wash. Stir a little sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle generously over top. Use scissors to snip an opening in top crust to allow steam to escape.

Place pie on prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 190 C (375 F) and continue to bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool pie in pan on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes one 9-inch (23 cm) pie, enough for 8 servings.

Source: “Bake with Anna Olson: More than 125 Simple, Scrumptious and Sensational Recipes to Make You a Better Baker” by Anna Olson (Appetite by Random House, 2016).

Pie dough for fruit fillings

Olson says this is her favourite overall pie dough.

“I’ve made thousands of pies and this is a brand-new thing I do that I have my flour and then I mix in a little vegetable oil to coat the flour. I find then once it has that coating it won’t overtake the butter because it’s already got that layer of fat around it so the butter stays distinctive.”

As the pie bakes, the butter melts and the water within the butter turns to steam, pushing up the flour layers around it, making the pastry flaky.

Olson’s other trick is to remove the butter from the refrigerator half an hour before she wants to work with it.

“Think about it. You take ice-cold butter, it shatters and cracks unevenly and you risk overworking your dough. If it’s slightly softened, it just comes together.”

She also pulls the dough out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to rolling it so it’s not ice-cold. “It could be the best pie dough on the planet, (but) it’s going to crack if the butter’s cold. But if it’s out for half an hour you’ll find it’s a lot easier and then you’re not overworking the glutens because it’s rolling faster.”

The lemon juice or vinegar that you add to a pie dough is a small measure, but it makes a difference. The acidity allow the proteins in the flour to become elastic, ensuring not only a tender crust but also one that does not spring back or shrink when you roll and bake it.

Prep time: 15 minutes plus chilling

375 g (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

12 g (1 tbsp) granulated sugar

5 g (1 tsp) salt

45 ml (3 tbsp) vegetable oil

225 g (1 cup) cool (does not have to be ice-cold) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

50 ml (1/4 cup) cool water

10 ml (2 tsp) lemon juice or white vinegar

In a bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir flour, sugar and salt together. Add oil and cut it in using a pastry cutter (or blend on low speed) until flour looks evenly crumbly in texture. Add butter and cut in (or blend) again until rough and crumbly but small pieces of butter are still visible.

Stir water with lemon juice and add to flour mixture all at once, mixing just until dough comes together. Shape dough into 2 discs (unless otherwise directed by pie recipe you are following), wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Alternatively, it can be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed in the fridge before rolling.

Makes enough for a double-crust pie.

Source: “Bake with Anna Olson: More than 125 Simple, Scrumptious and Sensational Recipes to Make You a Better Baker” by Anna Olson (Appetite by Random House, 2016).

Perfect pumpkin pies

Karlynn Johnston’s recipe for Perfect Pumpkin Pies, a Thanksgiving favourite, yields two pies so there’s enough for leftovers.

She uses one large can of pumpkin puree, split between two pies, which she finds is the perfect amount to avoid the pies from overflowing.

“I’m also giving away a family secret here: we use both evaporated and condensed milk, so that you use up the entire cans at once and get the best of both worlds in terms of taste and texture,” she writes in her new book “Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky.”

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Single crusts for two 9-inch pies (recipe follows)

1 can (796 ml/28 oz) pumpkin puree

1 can (370 ml/12 1/2 oz) evaporated milk

1 can (300 ml/ 10 1/2 oz) sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs, beaten

125 ml (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

20 ml (4 tsp) pumpkin pie spice (recipe follows)

5 ml (1 tsp) salt

Place oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 220 C (425 F).

Lay a crust in a 23-cm (9-inch) pie plate. Repeat with second crust and pie plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk, condensed milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt until smooth. Evenly divide between prepared crusts.

Place pies in oven, leaving plenty of space for air to circulate between them. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 180 C (350 F). Bake for another 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into centre of pie comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in refrigerator for up to 4 days. To freeze, wrap pie tightly in plastic wrap, followed by foil and place in freezer for 3 to 4 months.

Makes two 9-inch pies.

Source: “Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky: A Modern Baker’s Guide to Old-Fashioned Desserts” by Karlynn Johnston (Appetite by Random House, 2016).

Homemade pumpkin pie spice

For a truly traditional flavour, use pumpkin pie spice, as it includes allspice, which is often left out of pumpkin pie recipes yet makes all the difference taste-wise, says Johnston.

45 ml (3 tbsp) ground cinnamon

10 ml (2 tsp) ground nutmeg

10 ml (2 tsp) ground ginger

6 ml (1 1/4 tsp) cloves

7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) allspice

Combine spices and whisk together. Store in a closed container in your cupboard for up to 2 years.

Source: “Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky: A Modern Baker’s Guide to Old-Fashioned Desserts” by Karlynn Johnston (Appetite by Random House, 2016).

My perfect pie crust

Johnston says this pie crust mix is one of her favourite recipes. It also is an excellent way for the novice pie maker to practise making pie crusts.

“It’s fantastic because if you mess up one it’s OK. You have more pie crust mix to practise on.”

She recommends making a batch and storing it in your refrigerator or freezer. When the time comes to bake a pie, you can use as much as you need, and practise rolling out and forming pie crusts one at a time.

Practice makes the perfect pie crust. Your touch will get lighter and lighter, says Johnston.

Premade pie crust mix

Prepare this mix ahead of time; it can sit in the refrigerator for up to a month or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months, as long as it’s sealed tightly in a container. Since this mix will be frosty cold when you use it to make your pie crust, the chilling time after forming the disks of dough is less than it would otherwise be, making the whole process quicker.

Prep time: 5 minutes

1 pkg (453 g/1 lb) lard (500 ml/2 cups)

1.425 l (5 3/4 cups) sifted flour (“sift” it by using a whisk to fluff flour, then measure it)

15 ml (1 tbsp) salt

In a large bowl, combine lard, flour and salt. Cut lard with a pastry blender until pieces are the size of small peas. Alternatively, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until you have pea-sized pieces of lard.

Store mix in a large plastic freezer bag in refrigerator or freezer.

Makes enough for 6 23-cm (9-inch) double pie crusts or a dozen 23-cm (9-inch) single pie crusts

Prepearing pie crust

For pie plates, try to use glass or Pyrex. They are the key to a gorgeously browned bottom on the pie.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

825 ml (3 1/3 cups) chilled Premade Pie Crust Mix (recipe above)

10 ml (2 tsp) white vinegar

60 to 75 ml (4 to 5 tbsp) ice water

In a large bowl, place pie crust mix and sprinkle vinegar over top. Gradually add ice water, 15 ml (1 tbsp) at a time, using only enough to bring dough together. After each addition of water, use a fork to lift mix and toss it toward the centre of the bowl, over and over, until dough starts to come together. Test whether it is ready by placing a handful in your palm and squeezing fingers over it. If dough sticks together in a ball, it’s ready.

Gently bring dough together in a ball and divide into 2 portions. Shape into disks by first gently forming 2 balls of dough, then pressing gently down onto each until you have disks each about 5 cm (2 inches) thick. Wrap securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk into a circle large enough to overlap a 23-cm (9-inch) pie plate, about 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter and 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick. If crust rips or tears, do not start over as you will overwork dough. Simply take a piece from the edge, lay it on top of tear and use rolling pin to smooth it out.

To transfer pastry to pie plates, fold it into quarters and carefully transfer to the centre of each plate. Unfold until edges of pastry overlap sides of plate.

To crimp crusts, fold excess crust under itself on the rim of the pie plate. Once you have a thick edge, place one hand on the outside of the crust and one on inside. Pinch together the index finger and thumb of your outside hand into a small shape of a V. Using your index finger of your inside hand, gently push pie crust into the V-shaped space formed by your outside hand. This will form a V-shape along the crust’s edge. Repeat every 2.5 cm (1 inch) or so until you have crimped the entire pie crust.

For an extra-flaky crust, refrigerate dough while you prepare pie filling. The more chilled, the flakier the crust. Bake according to the individual pie recipe.

Makes a 23-cm (9-inch) double pie crust or 2 23-cm (9-inch) single pie crusts.