We love putting new twists on traditional favorites, and since Valentine’s Day is almost here, we came up with this heart-crusted apple pie. For this apple pie recipe we used Pink Lady Apples, a cross between the Golden Delicious and the Lady Williams, and one of our personal favorites for baking. The signature sweet-tart flavor and hot pink skin of these apples make them the perfect ingredient for this charming pie.
Heart-Crusted Apple Pie
Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- Pie Dough
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
- Apple Pie
- 4 large [url href=”http://www.thefruitcompany.com/gifts/category/fruit-only-gift-boxes/pink-lady-apples” target=”_blank” title=”Pink Lady Apples from The Fruit Company”]Pink Lady apples[/url]
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of zest
- ¾ cups sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 egg white
Instructions
Pie Dough
- Fill a one cup measuring cup with water and add a few ice cubes, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and salt, combine. Cut 2 sticks of butter into 1/2” pieces. Add butter to the large bowl, and using your pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture. Continue until you form pea size pieces. Add ½ cup ice water to the mixture and combine with a rubber spatula. Continue to add 1 tablespoon as a time until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half, wrap with plastic wrap and form into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Apple Pie
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place oven rack to the lowest level. Place a baking sheet in the oven to begin warming.
- Remove pie dough from the refrigerator. Heavily flour your work surface and place pie dough disk in the middle. Begin rolling the disk starting in the middle working your way out. After a few rolls, pick up the dough, add more flour to the surface, and rotate the dough. Continue to roll and rotate until the dough until the circumference is approximately 12 inches round. Cut the dough into a 12” circle using a bowl or ruler. Gentle fold the dough in half, and then in half again and place in the pie plate. Undo your fold and begin to fold over the excess pie that hangs over the edge. Crimp the edges by forming a “v” with the tips of your thumb and index finger of one hand and pressing the dough into the ‘v” with the index finger of your other hand. Once this is complete, place the pie plate back into the refrigerator while you begin the apples.
- Peel, core and cut apples in half, and half again. Cut apples into 1/4” slices and place in a large bowl. Toss with lemon juice and lemon zest. In a small bowl, mix ¾ cup sugar with flour, salt and spices. Combine this with the sliced apples. Pour apple mixture into the pie plate.
- Roll out second dough approximately the same depth as the first. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, begin cutting out the pie hearts. Starting at the crust begin placing the hearts around the edge pressing firmly on the crust. Continue to place hearts by layering them in between the gaps. Gently whisk 1 egg white in a small bowl and brush the entire pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the pie.
- Place pie on baking sheet and lower oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the pie, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.
- Transfer to wire rack and cool for 2-3 hours. This will help gel the apple mixture.
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