"Best of Summer" Pie and My Favorite Pie Crust Recipe

Since Summer seems to be far from over here in San Diego, I was inspired this weekend to take some of my favorite Summer fruit (peaches, nectarines and blueberries) and bake them into a pie. For me, pie is the ultimate Summer dessert. It's relatively easy to make, portable (take it to a party, barbecue or potluck) and you just feel good eating it!

This also gives me the perfect opportunity to share my favorite pie crust recipe with you. I've tested several pie crust recipes - all butter, all shortening, a combination of butter and shortening, but to me the all butter recipe wins hands down. You just can't beat the taste of butter. Butter really is better. While some may believe you need shortening to achieve the flaky texture that everyone loves, you really don't as long as you remember the 3 important rules for good pie crust - keep your ingredients cold, don't overwork your dough and use proper techniques. After a lot of testing, this recipe and method from Inspired Taste (via Cooks Illustrated) worked best for me. I love that it's made in the Food Processor which gives you consistent results. When it comes to research, you really can't beat Cooks Illustrated. They really get behind the science of why certain recipes and techniques work and they do all the research for you!

Click here for my favorite pie crust recipe.

 

Check out all the marbling in the dough...when the heat from the oven hits the moisture from the butter, it creates steam which results in a flaky c.rust

 

 

Now on to this delicious pie. The combination of peaches, nectarines and blueberries really is a winner, but feel free to use your favorite Summer fruit. The crust, as promised, is golden, buttery and flaky. I hope you'll give this "Best of Summer" Pie recipe a try!

 

 

"Best of Summer" Peach Nectarine Blueberry Pie
3 large peaches, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
2 large nectaries, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1/4 cup brown sugar*
2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Zest and juice from half of a fresh lemon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 double crust pie crust
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water)
Sugar in the Raw for sprinkling on crust
* increase amount of brown sugar if your fruit isn't very sweet

Directions:

Place all of the fruit into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss with a rubber spatula to coat. Add the lemon zest and juice and toss again. Set aside. Tip: Don't use fruit that is overly ripe or it will get too mushy during baking. Adding fresh lemon zest and juice to fruit fillings brightens the flavor of the fruit

Crack the egg into a small bowl or ramekin. Add 1 tablespoon cold water and whisk with a fork to combine. Set aside.

Roll out one disk of pie dough on a well floured surface. Carefully place into pie pan. Arrange the fruit mixture on top. Make sure the fruit is distributed as evenly as possible. Tuck the small chunks of butter into the filling.

Roll out the top crust and place on top of the fruit filling. Trim if needed, then fold under the edges of the bottom crust and crimp to seal and create a decorative border.

Place the pie in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Tip: This gives the dough time to chill and relax.

While the pie is chilling, preheat oven to 400f and place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to preheat it. Tip:  Preheating the baking sheet helps to bake the bottom crust. No soggy bottoms here!

After 15 minutes, remove the pie from the refrigerator and brush lightly and evenly with egg wash. Sprinkle crust with sugar and cut a few vent holes in the top. Tip: Brushing with egg wash and sprinking with sugar helps to create a golden crust and add sweetness and texture.

Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet in the oven. Bake at 400f for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350. Bake for another 45-50 minutes or until filling is hot and bubbly. Cover the edges of the pie crust with stripes of foil or a baking shield if the edges start to get too brown before it's ready to remove from the oven.

Remove from oven and allow to cool at least an hour and a half before slicing. This gives the filling time to thicken.

Store at room temperature for 1 day or lightly covered in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Homemade Apple "Pop Tarts" with Cinnamon Glaze (and how I conquered my fear of homemade crust)

Sometimes in life when you are afraid to do something you just have to dive in head first and do it. That's just what I did with this recipe. I very seldom make homemade crust (heavy emphasis on the word seldom). I haven't found a recipe I love and I hate to waste precious ingredients (butter is like gold to me) so I usually stick with store bought crust (gasp!). This time I knew I wanted the crust to be the star so I decided to dive in and give homemade crust another try. I have to say that I was so surprised and impressed by the results. This crust recipe is so buttery, so flaky and so  amazingly good it can rival puff pastry when it comes to flakiness. I'm so proud of myself for finally conquering my fear of pie crust!

If you would like to simplify the recipe and skip making your own dough, it would also be delicious using frozen puff pastry or refrigerated ready made pie crust, but I highly recommend the homemade crust if you have the time. It's definitely worth it!

Homemade Apple "Pop Tarts" with Cinnamon Glaze
Makes 8 servings (or 8 pop tarts)

Ingredients

Pastry
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cold milk

Filling
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Cinnamon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Egg Wash
1 egg lightly beaten

Instructions:

To make the dough

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar and salt by mixing for a few seconds.

Scatter the butter over the top and mix at low speed just until the mixture holds together when you squeeze a clump of it in your hand. This took exactly 1 1/2 minutes on my mixer. You should still see large lumps of butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add to the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together. It should still look shaggy and messy and not cohesive.

Dump the dough out onto an unfloured surface and shape it into a tight mound. Using the heel of your hand start at the top of the dough (either the far right or far left) and smear it down towards you. Repeat the process until the entire mound of dough has been smeared. You should see streaks of butter throughout the dough. These streaks will make your pastry flaky!

Using a bench scraper or thin spatula, scrape up the dough and place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, form it into a disk (I made mine rectangular shape since that's the shape you will ultimately be rolling it into). Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 4 days. As a time saver, I made my crust the night before & then assembled/baked the pop tarts in the morning.

Prepare the filling

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the apples and stir until the apples just begin to soften (approx 2 minutes). Add the brown sugar and continue to cook stirring constantly until the sugar is melted and the apples are softened (approx 3 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

To the cooked apples, add the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and egg. Stir gently with a rubber spatula to combine. Make sure the mixture is cooled completely before using.

Prepare the glaze

In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon. If glaze is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar and vice versa.


To assemble

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Place one half back in the refrigerator.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 24"x11". Cut the dough into 8 equal rectangles.

Brush four of the rectangles with the egg wash. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the apple filling into the center of the egg washed rectangles. Place the other rectangles on top and crimp with a fork.

Remove the second half of the dough from the fridge, repeat the above process with the remaining dough.

Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 35-40 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Allow to cool 30 minutes, then brush with the cinnamon glaze. Enjoy!

Keep leftovers stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Source: Adapted from Buns in my Oven

Award Winning Upside Down Apple Pie

If you're like me, you're sitting in front of your computer right now wondering where the month has gone. It's so hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here. From the looks of the stores (that immediately began playing Christmas Carols the day after Halloween) you would think we've completely skipped Thanksgiving this year.  Thanksgiving definitely doesn't get the respect it deserves. I'm looking forward to a few days off, to sitting down to a delicious meal with family, to giving thanks for all of the blessings of the past year. It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me if I haven't spent most of the day cooking and baking.  We have our traditional dishes we make every year: the boys would be upset if I didn't make Macaroni and Cheese, Chris loves stuffing, my Niece, Mandy, loves Pumpkin Cheesecake and my husband loves everything! My favorite dishes are my Mom's Sweet Potatoes and this Upside Down Apple Pie. I'll never forget the first time I made it. I thought it was one of the best apple pies I have ever eaten and most people who have tasted it agree. I call it "Award Winning" because it won 'Best Taste' in a Bake Off at work. I've only given this recipe out to a few people, but I strongly believe that great food is meant to be shared. So if you want to be the hero of your Thanksgiving dinner, if you want your guests to rave about one of the best apple pies they've ever eaten, then you will make this pie.

Award Winning Upside Down Apple Pie
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons melted butter, divided
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
3/4 c chopped pecans
1 box refridgerated pie crust
1 c granulated sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
6 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick slices

Instructions:

Follow instructions to bring crust to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375

Spray a deep dish glass pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Line with waxed paper making sure there is at least a 1" overhang. You'll need the overhang to help loosen and remove the pie. Spray the wax paper with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Spread evenly into the bottom of the prepared pie plate.

Roll out one of the crusts to a size approx 1- 1 1/2" larger than the pie plate. Gently place the crust into the pie plate on top of the pecan mixture and gently press the bottom against the nut mixture.

In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add the sliced apples and toss to coat. Spoon the apple mixture into the prepared pie plate.

Roll out the remaining pie crust and place on top of the apple mixture. Fold the overhang of the bottom crust over the edges of the top crust and crimp to seal. Cut 3-4 slits in the top of the crust.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Place a foil tent over the crust if it begins to brown too quickly. Careful not to overbake or your apples will turn into apple sauce.

Remove the pie from the oven and carefully loosen the wax paper around the edges of the pie. Carefully invert the pie onto a platter. The brown sugar/pecan mixture will be extremely hot.

Remove wax paper and allow the pie to cool approx 30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or allow to cool completely.

Store leftovers (if any) covered at room temperature for no longer than 2 days.

Enjoy!!

Note: Place another baking sheet or foil on the rack underneath the pie to catch any drippings. I like to use Granny Smith apples which are tart since the filling has a lot of sugar but feel free to use any apples you like that are suitable for baking. Decrease sugar to 3/4 c if you like your filling on the tart side. Add nutmeg to increase the spice. If you already have an apple pie filling recipe you like, feel free to use that recipe and follow the same method for turning it into an upside down apple pie! Making individual pies baked in ramekins would also be a good idea : )