Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Apple Pie with Salted Pecan Crumble


The second dessert on the Thanksgiving menu is this Apple Pie with Salted Pecan Crumble. I knew I had to make a classic double-crusted apple pie, but I also wanted to make something fun and different. Salted anything seems to be all the rage these days (caramels, chocolate, etc.), so this seemed to be a more current adaptation of a classic recipe!


I made a few slight changes to the recipe. I used all whole wheat pastry flour in my crust because that's all my mom had at home. I was worried about using all whole wheat, but all of the crusts came out perfect and the whole wheat added a great different flavor!
I also subbed in 1/2 cup rolled oats for 1/3 cup flour as noted below.


This pie doesn't exactly cut perfectly, but the taste makes up for the less than perfect slices! Next time I make this, I'm planning to serve it warm with vanilla ice cream!
Also, big thanks to Popie for peeling all of the apples for my pies on Thanksgiving :)


Apple Pie with Salted Pecan Crumble
Adapted from Delish.com

Pie Dough:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ice water


Salted pecan crumble:
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoon (packed) light-brown sugar
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup pecan pieces
5 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces


Apple Filling:
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 pounds apples (I used Gala and Johnathan), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon


To make pie dough:
In a large food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt.
Add egg yolk and butter.
Pulse until butter is cut to the size of peas.
Add ice water and pulse until it forms into a ball.
Turn dough out onto a smooth surface and gather into a ball.
Wrap in plastic; flatten into a disk. Refrigerate 1 hour.
To make salted pecan crumble:
In a food processor, combine flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup pecans; process until pecans are ground.
Add oats and butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly.
Transfer crumble to a medium bowl; add remaining 1/3 cup pecans and, using your hands, crumble and squeeze mixture to form larger clumps.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
On a lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll out dough into an 1/8-inch-thick 12-inch round.
Fold in half and ease gently into a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold dough, letting pastry overhang edge.
Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under and flute or crimp edge. Refrigerate shell.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.


To make apple filling:
In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg until blended.
Add apples, juice and zest; toss until apples are evenly coated.
Remove pie shell from refrigerator and spoon apple filling into it, mounding filling in center of pie.
Sprinkle crumble evenly over top of pie, gently pressing into place; place pie on a baking sheet.
Bake 1 1/2 hours, or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown.
Let cool completely on a wire rack.

4 comments:

Meredith said...

Oh I love this! I love that it uses whole wheat flour... but wait. Is whole wheat flour (which I have) the same thing as whole wheat pastry flour???? Have I mentioned lately that you taught (and inspired) me how to cook?

Joanne said...

This sounds excellent! I love sweet and salty. Possibly one of my favorite flavor combinations!

Laurel Groff said...

Looks wonderful! Just came across your blog, I am a jacksonville resident too - you're probably the closest blogger I have come across. Good to "meet" you!

elly said...

Mmm, I definitely want to make this one. I love anything with apples and the crumble sounds fab!