YumSugar

Ready to Try the World's Best Apple Pie?

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:29 -0800

Because I haven't been a huge pumpkin pie fan until extremely recently, I've tried to take advantage of Fall's other stellar produce to end the season's celebrations on a sweet note. Like everyone says, there's nothing more American than apple pie. To that I'd like to add: there's nothing that exemplifies Autumn more than the smell of a baked-from-scratch apple pie. This one is perhaps the best I've ever tasted! It's piled high to the sky with fresh apple filling, and the crust calls for shortening instead of butter, which makes it exceptionally flaky. To make this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just because, keep reading.

Come Party With Me: Spring Picnic - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:10:09 -0700

For my Spring picnic, I knew apple pie had to be on the menu because it's the quintessential American dessert. The only problem is pie isn't the most picnic friendly of meals. Unlike cookies or brownies, pie just does not transport easily.

However, this recipe for apple pie bars looks picnic perfect. The crust is a crisp shortbread, the filling a mixture of apples and cinnamon sugar, and the topping an oat-walnut streusel. All the familiar flavors of apple pie are present, but no fork or plate is necessary! To see how it's made, read more.

Apple Pie Bars
From Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients

Crust
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
12 Granny Smith apples (about 6 pounds)-peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup water, as necessary
Topping
3/4 cup walnuts
3 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled

Directions

Make the crust: preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 15-x-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
In a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan and 1/2 inch up the side in an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is golden and set. Let cool on a rack.
Meanwhile, make the filling: in each of 2 large skillets, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter with 1/4 cup of the light brown sugar.
Add the apples to the skillets and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir half of the cinnamon and nutmeg into each skillet. Cook until the apples are caramelized and very tender and the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes longer; scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillets and add up to 1/2 cup of water to each pan to prevent scorching. Let cool.
Make the topping: spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast until golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop the walnuts.
In a large bowl, mix the oats with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the walnuts and press the mixture into clumps.
Spread the apple filling over the crust. Scatter the crumbs on top, pressing them lightly into an even layer.
Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour, until the topping is golden; rotate the pan halfway through baking. Let cool completely on a rack before cutting into 2-inch bars.

Serves 4.

Make ahead: the bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or frozen for up to a month.

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Cupcake of the Week: Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

YumSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:28:31 -0800

This week's cupcake comes from our pal muffin. Her Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes come complete with a round of pastry and a oozing of caramel. These look absolutely sinful and wonderfully delicious. Don't you want to leap into the screen and shove these in your face? I know I do!

Come Party With Me: Vegetarian Thanksgiving - Menu (Desserts)

partysugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:18:33 -0800

What would a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner be without the glorious finish? Allow plenty of digestion time to pass before serving dessert. Offer guests two options to choose from. A sweet potato pie with pecan streusel is a nice alternative to the classic pumpkin pie. A to die for caramel apple pie rounds out the other half of the dessert menu. To get the recipes that will have guests saying "pass the whipped cream," read more

Sweet Potato Pie With Pecan Streusel
From Williams-Sonoma

For the pecan streusel:
1 tbsp. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
For the filling:
1 large Garnet yam (orange-fleshed sweet potato), 12 to 14 oz.
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
sweetened whipped cream for serving

Fold the dough round in half and transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold and ease into the pan, patting it firmly into the bottom and up the sides.
Using kitchen shears, trim the edge of the dough round, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and pinch it together to create a high edge on the pans rim. Flute the edge decoratively.
Refrigerate or freeze the pie shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.
Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
To make the pecan streusel, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Set aside.
To make the filling, prick the yam several times with a fork, put directly on the oven rack and bake until tender when pierced with a knife, about 55 minutes. Alternatively, cook the yam in the microwave on high heat until tender, about 6 minutes per side. Set aside to cool. Peel the cooled yam and mash the pulp with a fork or puree in a food processor until smooth. Measure out 1 cup of the puree for the filling. (Reserve any remaining yam for another use.)
In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, salt, and eggs. Add the cinnamon, ginger, and allspice and mix well. Stir in the yam puree and cream and beat until smooth. Pour into the partially-baked pie shell.
Bake until the filling is firm, about 20 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven, quickly sprinkle the pecan streusel evenly over the surface, and continue baking until the filling is slightly risen and firm in the middle, 20 to 25 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Slice the pie into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

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Caramel Apple Pie
From Tyler Florence

3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
2 eggs separated, (yolks for the pastry, whites for the glaze)
3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
Caramel Apples:
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the top
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 lemon, halved
8 apples (recommended: Granny Smith and Gala)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cinnamon stick, freshly grated
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the chunks of cold butter with a pastry blender, a little at a time, until the dough resembles cornmeal.
Add the 2 egg yolks and the ice water, and blend for a second just to pull the dough together and moisten. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. To make the caramel sauce: place the sugar and water in a small pot and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and add the cream and wine slowly. It may bubble and spit, so be careful. When the sauce has calmed down, return it to the flame, add the vanilla bean and heat it slowly, until the wine and caramel are smooth and continue to slowly cook until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and cool until thickened.
Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the lemon juice. Peel the apples with a paring knife, cut them in half, and remove the core with a melon baller. Put the apple halves in the lemon-water (this will keep them from going brown). Toss the apples with the flour and cinnamon.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap the plastic, and cut the ball in half. Rewrap and return 1 of the balls to the refrigerator, until ready for the top crust. Let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes so it will be pliable enough to roll out.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin and lay it inside a 10-inch glass pie pan. Press the dough into the pan so it fits tightly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice a couple of the apples at a time using a mandolin or a very sharp knife. The apples need to be thinly sliced so that as the pie bakes, they collapse on top of each other with no air pockets. This makes a dense, meaty apple pie.
Cover the bottom of the pastry with a layer of apples, shingling the slices so there are no gaps. Ladle about 2 ounces of the cooled red wine caramel sauce evenly over the apple slices. Repeat the layers, until the pie is slightly overfilled and domed on the top; the apples will shrink down as the pie cooks. Top the apples with pieces of the butter.
Now, roll out the other ball of dough just as you did the first. Brush the bottom lip of the pie pastry with a little beaten egg white to form a seal. Place the pastry circle on top of the pie, and using some kitchen scissors, trim off the overhanging excess from around the pie. Crimp the edges of dough together with your fingers to make a tight seal. Cut slits in the top of the pie so steam can escape while baking. Place the pie on a sheet tray and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil, so the crust does not cook faster than the apples.
Bake the caramel apple pie for 25 minutes on the middle rack.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the freshly grated cinnamon. Remove the foil from the pie and brush the top with the remaining egg white. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar and return to the oven.
Continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and bubbling. Let the apple pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow the fruit pectin to gel and set; otherwise the pie will fall apart when you cut into it.

Serves 6-8.

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Would You Rather Eat Pumpkin or Apple Pie?

partysugar — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 04:18:55 -0800

Source

What Do You Know About Apple Pie?

YumSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:04:53 -0700

I'm not totally sure why National Apple Pie Day is in May - being that apples are a fall fruit - but I'm more than happy to celebrate. Apple pie is one of those dishes that tastes great no matter what time of year, so why not enjoy it now? If you've ever wanted to know more about apple pie, here's your chance. I've put together this little quiz, so let's get started!

Source

Take the quiz

52 Weeks of Baking: Pear and Apple Pie Crumble

YumSugar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:01:31 -0700

This week I decided to brave it out, and put my excuses - small kitchen, no room in the freezer, no pastry blender, etc. - aside and bake a pie. My friend Becky had some ripe pears off of her tree, and I still had a few of the apples from geeksugar. So with fresh produce in hand, and a few recipes at my fingertips I decided to roll out some dough and make a pie.

Things were not so great. I'll admit it now, I'm not great with pastry crust. Pie eludes me and while I successfully managed to create a bottom crust, the upper crust was difficult and not easy to work with - I should have put it back in the freezer first. After ruining what was left of the dough, I went into panic mode until I remembered I didn't need a top crust and could make a crumble instead. So I whipped up a few ingredients and sprinkled the crumble on top.

Overall it ended up being a delightful pie - the pears and apples really play nicely together - and when paired with a scoop of ice cream, it was absolutely heavenly. Oh and I know it doesn't quite look like a slice of pie, but like I said, pie eludes me...

To check out the recipe I used, read more

Apple and Pear Pie
Crust from Jessica Appelgren's Huckleberry Peace Pie, Filling adapted from Diana's Desserts, and Crumble mixture from YumSugar

Crust
[Note: I cut this in half and used a crumble topping instead.]
2 cups butter
2-2/3 cups flour
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt

Chill the butter in the freezer for 10 minutes so that’s it’s really cold.
Pour the flour over the butter on a large work surface, covering the butter so that it won’t stick to your rolling pin.
Roll the butter out flat, collect the mixture with a scraper, and re-roll it two or three times.
Make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add the water and salt, cutting the liquid into the mix with the scraper until you have a workable dough.
Roll the dough out flat one more time, cut it in half, and place in the freezer.

Filling
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 - 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
5 firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp of lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, stir together the filling ingredients, mixing till well-combined.

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup golden brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the butter and flour with the fork until it is textured like breadcrumbs.
Add sugars and cinnamon to mixture and mix well.
If it is too dry, use the leftover liquid from the apple/pear mixture to help.

Assemble

Roll one piece of pie crust into a 12-inch round and gently lay it into the pie pan.
Spoon in filling. Do not add all of the extra liquid.
Evenly put the crumble mixture over the apples.
Bake pie in a preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until the top is brown and filling is bubbly.
Remove from oven to cooling rack, and let cool completely before serving.

View 21 Photos ›

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Celebrity Chef Art Smith Scores New TLC Show

YumSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:30:21 -0800

NBC and Fox aren't the only channels trying to nab a piece of the cooking show pie. So is cable channel TLC. Not only does the lifestyle network boast new programming like Cake Boss and the soon-to-air BBQ Pitmasters, but the channel has just ordered eight episodes of a new 30-minute series, Craving Comfort, starring celebrity chef Art Smith.

Rather than demoing dishes in the traditional cooking show sense, Smith will travel the country in search of America's most satisfying eats. Each show will focus on one particular comfort food, such as fried chicken or apple pie. Craving Comfort will debut in late 2010.

Smith, who owns Table Fifty-Two and was Oprah Winfrey's personal chef for a decade, recently starred in the Bravo series Top Chef Masters. I think David Chang is right in saying that comfort foods will be big in 2010, and that this show will take off. Are you a big enough fan of Art Smith to tune in?

Yummy Links: From Caramel Apples to Wine Glass Charms

partysugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:45:27 -0700

Get excited for Halloween by making tricked-out caramel apples. - Chow
If caramel apples aren't your thing, why not make chocolate pumpkin pie bars instead? - Baking Bites
Ditch communal snacking and eat healthier. - FitSugar
The Michelin Guide has announced the 2009 stars for restaurants in New York City. - Epi-Log
Would you wear a bacon tiara? - Serious Eats
Leftovers are the key to budget cooking. - Simply Stated
Which sandwich bread is the best for you? - The Kitchn
Learn how to make your own stylish wine stem charms. - Hostess with the Mostess

Source

Do You Bake With Shortening?

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:04 -0800

This morning, I set the record straight on the baking fat known as shortening. Although it's a nice vegan alternative to butter or lard, a number of you are disgusted with its trans fat content. I can relate to both perspectives - although I recently became enamored with the flaky texture it lends to pie crusts, like the one in traditional apple pie.

Source: Flickr User tellumo