Still, there were a few things I thought needed to be tweaked, which I obviously tried out when I made this for myself. The original recipe calls for a strudel topping with pumpkin pie spice. Meh, strudel. I prefer the buttery flakeyness of a double crust, latticed if you don't want it to be too heavy (and because looking at a lattice top pie that you made yourself will make you feel like a god damn rockstar. I promise.) I'm also not really a fan of premixed spices. If you're working with fresh, seasonal apples, they should be the breakout star of this pie -- anything else is just there to give their flavor depth and dimension.
I used a couple different types of apples, including Granny Smiths, that were described as good pie apples at the Farmer's Market. A few dashes from various (individual) spice jars, a tablespoon or two of bourbon and voila! An apple pie that makes even the stanchest of cherry pie fanatics happy. Enjoy!
Deep Dish Caramel Apple Pie
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Ingredients:
1 double pie crust (I used the Buttery Double
Crust recipe from Vegan Pie in the Sky)
8 apples (Granny Smith or a combination of good
pie apples)
¼ c. flour
a dash each of allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves
3 shakes of cinnamon
¼ c. flour
a dash each of allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves
3 shakes of cinnamon
1¼ c. sugar
¼ c. + 2 TBSP water, separated
3 TBSP Earth Balance Margarine
2 TBSP Bourbon
Core, peel, and slice apples approximately ¼ to ½ an inch think, and set aside in a large bowl. Combine the flour, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, and cinnamon and add the mixture to your bowl of apples. Toss to coat and set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan, mix the sugar and ¼ c. of water over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Then, increase the heat until your mixture reaches a rolling boil. Continue to boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, about 5 minutes. [I always get paranoid at this part, but a wise someone once told me that although sugar goes from syrupy goodness to burnt mess really quickly, you’ll definitely know when that’s about to happen. So don’t take it off the stove before 5 minutes or you’ll lose out on a really good caramel flavor.] Once the syrup is that deep amber color, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the Earth Balance, bourbon, and water. The mixture will bubble and hiss at you but don’t panic, that’s what’s supposed to happen. Return the saucepot to the stove and swirl until the Earth Balance is melted. Then pour the caramel over the apples and quickly toss to coat. Let the filling sit for 5-10 minutes, so that the apples release their juices. The caramel will harden, but that’s okay.
¼ c. + 2 TBSP water, separated
3 TBSP Earth Balance Margarine
2 TBSP Bourbon
Core, peel, and slice apples approximately ¼ to ½ an inch think, and set aside in a large bowl. Combine the flour, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, and cinnamon and add the mixture to your bowl of apples. Toss to coat and set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan, mix the sugar and ¼ c. of water over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Then, increase the heat until your mixture reaches a rolling boil. Continue to boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, about 5 minutes. [I always get paranoid at this part, but a wise someone once told me that although sugar goes from syrupy goodness to burnt mess really quickly, you’ll definitely know when that’s about to happen. So don’t take it off the stove before 5 minutes or you’ll lose out on a really good caramel flavor.] Once the syrup is that deep amber color, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the Earth Balance, bourbon, and water. The mixture will bubble and hiss at you but don’t panic, that’s what’s supposed to happen. Return the saucepot to the stove and swirl until the Earth Balance is melted. Then pour the caramel over the apples and quickly toss to coat. Let the filling sit for 5-10 minutes, so that the apples release their juices. The caramel will harden, but that’s okay.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
While the filling sits and the oven preheats,
place one of the double crusts in a 9-10 inch pie plate. And make sure it’s a
deeper pie dish (at least 1¾
in. high), or you may have some spillage in the oven. Carefully spoon the
apples and caramel chunks into the pie plate.
Now if you wanted to save some time, you could just place
the other pie crust on top of your filling. (Be sure to cut 3 steam slits in
the center of it, and crimp your edges together.) But if you want to make pie like a
rock star, follow these handy dandy illustrations courtesy of Bon Appetit (the pictures are way easier to follow than the written directions):
Yes! Bake pie for about 1 hour and 5 or 10 minutes, until
apples are tender and the lattice and crust are golden brown. Let the pie sit for
an hour, more if you can stand it. It makes a nicer looking slice than the
delicious apple slop I plated for myself. No matter, it didn’t last long.
