Apple Pie to *Go*? Yes, Please.
I discovered the best apple pie recipe in the world years ago, when I was a magazine editor in New York City and desperate for a leaf-peeping-autumn-day-on-a-fork. Sure, we could have hopped on a train to New England and taken in the real thing…but sometimes, when chilly winds are whirling, you just want to stay home, put on your coziest leisurewear and bake.
For the best apple pie recipe on earth, look no further than page 81 of Nancie McDermott’s stellar book “Southern Pies” (Chronicle Books, 2010). The recipe comes from Hollandale, Mississippi, where it was whipped up by Miz Bob of the Fair Deal Cafe. It’s unlike other ( lesser) apple pie recipes in that she cooks the apples with sugar and spices on the stovetop before placing them in her pastry, a move that results in butter soft, pillowy apple filling without any off-putting crunch. To give it my own spin, I put the apple pie filling into puff pastry hand pies, and used made in the USA cookie cutters from Aspen Grange to decorate them for a little added delight.
And let me tell you, this recipe is transcendent all year round. These hand pies are divine at Christmas, served with apple cider after a morning in the snow. Come summer, you can haul them to the beach and serve them atop a bowl of vanilla ice cream. In spring and autumn, we pop them in our pockets for a little snack on our family hikes through Colorado’s mountains. Adorned with puff pastry cut out into charming shapes using our made in the USA cookie cutters, there’s really nothing better. Here, our recipe, adapted from Nancie McDermott’s cookbook “Southern Pies”:
Ingredients
-Two sheets puff pastry of your choice (Found in the freezer aisle; we prefer made in the USA baking supplies)
-2 ¼ pounds cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, Rome Beauty, or Empire
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
-1 teaspoon powdered ginger
-⅓ cup butter, we prefer Irish butter
-¼ cup water
-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1 egg white
Thaw puff pastry.
Peel and core your apples, then cut them into ½ inch thick slices. In a large pot on the stovetop, mix the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sugar until all the apples are coated with a layer of Christmassy goodness. Add the water and butter and bring the pot to a boil over medium heat. Stir, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the apples are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir flour into the mixture thoroughly and cook another 10 minutes, stirring every once in a while. At this point, your kitchen should smell like you’re sipping cider on a leaf-peeping stroll through Vermont. Aaah.
Turn your oven on at 400°F. Cut each of your thawed puff pastry sheets into 8 rectangles, for a total of 16. (Save a little extra puff pastry to use with your made in the USA cookie cutters.) Put a big ole spoonful of apple pie gooey goodness into the center of 8 rectangles, then plop the other 8 on top, using a fork to push the puff pastry together around the edges. Cut a couple tiny slices in the top of each one as air vents, and then decorate them with shapes made with made in the USA cookie cutters…it doesn’t get much cuter than our perfect bow, snow day collection or autumn magic made in the USA cookie cutters. Brush the top of each one with the egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake on a parchment sheet-lined made in USA baking supplies cookie sheet for 20 minutes, or until they’re beautifully golden brown. Go put on your coziest outfit and wool socks to let them cool a bit before devouring.
